Crusade of the Thousand
by Medigo
Summary: They search the legends for their own glory and power. They gave us an innocent game, little did we know that it was an excellent tool for death. And the only ones that can stand up to them are those that wield both monster and legend.
1. Testament 001: Welcome the duelists

_So lets see here._

_This is a fic that I had written down a year ago for a different site. Though that one has not been getting much traffic recently and so I decided to repost it here, because I am such a nice guy (and I hadn't done anything with this account recently...if ever.) So yeah its a story based on the card game of YGO and certain elements from the show, though thats about as far as it goes. No characters from the show, entirely separate world, so using cards like Kaibaman wont be completely bizarre._

_It follows the standard rules of the game, 8000 LP, normal summoning in face-up attack mode but not face-up defense mode etc etc. Most of the cards used already exist, but if they are not there will be a short description of the card at the end of the paragraph. And for this fic I use the translated names usually, though sometimes the original names will go along with it (Because some names just sound better that way._

_At the end of the chapter before the notes there will be a little summary of what bew cards showed up in the chapter, and which ones are in the actual card game. _

_No clue how the rating system works (Not American here). It contains somewhat explicit language, violence , religious references and stuff like that. Guess thats a 'T'_

_Anyway lets get this started shall we? I hope to keep the updates at a fast pace._

**Testament 1: Welcome the Duelists**

Somewhere in a darkened area, near a place where that not many people would suspect of corruption, the dawn of a new age was in the making. It was in the prime of night when a certain offland base had received orders to prepare for the upcoming event. Soldiers waited at the edge and on top of the high walls, waiting for the trucks to arrive. They entered the complex with ominous beams of light, and from the cars came even stranger figures, men and women whose features were obscured by in white coats. "So you have arrived at last" One of the base officers said, greeting the leader of the convoy with a stern handshake. "You sound disappointed, sir." The other responded, rather bluntly. "Not at all. We are at your disposal." The first bowed down slighlty, to hide a certain level of contempt for the people that stood before him. "As was the agreement between our two parties..." He smirked and nodded at the trick driver, who drove onward. The gate closed behind him almost immediately.

Once inside, they started to unload a very large package. Crates and crates of heavy materials, no soldier was allowed to peek inside. "I wonder what that is though." One of them pointed towards the largest crate of them all, as he carried a box away. "Who knows, we will need a forklift for that thing. But if I have to make a guess.." Some knew very well why they were here, they werent the first place to be visited by the men in white. "Sir, I have some other news you should hear." A woman walked up to the leader. "Ah yes, interesting." He picked up a pad from his companion and quoted it. "They have begun the tournament, we expect a pleasant output. See to it that your project is on schedule." He chuckled and turned away to talk with the official. "Heh, it seems your men wont have much free time." The other just sighed and shook his head. "I do not know what you people are up too, but this tournament wont benefit from it." The leader did not react and just stared into the sky, smiling.

_"And that is why dont need to know"_

The very next day a bulletin was issued across the globe, in all languages and to every country that harbored them. Duelists, they who played the game known as "Duel Monsters". Those who were accepted into the official hierarchy of the game, meaning that they were recognized as high-ranked players in official leagues, were notified of a special tournament coming up in an unknown location. The prices awarded, would prove to please them for a lifetime. Everything was funded by toy and game companies, most notably the firm 'Outer Deck' who shipped the cards to most countries, while making millions. However there was a catch, a new device had been invented by an offshore branch, called a dueldisk. Only players with this device could enter the games, only they would receive the proper invitation and location. The dueldisks were in the hands of every local game store owner and/or employee, instated as an official judge by the company.

The outbursts across the globe ranged from timid to furious, depending on the attitudes of every duelist who received Outer Decks notice. Whether it was first spotted in game mags, on the net or an obscure television commercial, pretty soon everyone was informed. Several players stormed to the nearest stores first thing in the morning, others waited until the buzz died down, and few elected to ignore the whole thing. It was a good thing that this competition was held at the start of summer vacation, the company wanted to avoid any negative parental backlash at all costs. However the event was still vaguely explained, all that the children knew was that they were to come to a local judge and fight for the dueldisk apparatus. At least this confusion did not last for too long, the judges quickly sorted them out as they entered the stores. This held true for the pack of gamers that visited a large-scale shop at the edge of their city. This was one of the more crowded gatherings.

"Okay children, calm down and take a seat." The head-Judge yelled over the megaphone, pointing to the makeshift stools in front of the building. "In ten minutes, we will begin the matches. Yes you heard me right, matches. Since this particular store is so packed with enthusiastic duelists, and the number of dueldisks provided to us is limited, we will have to test your skills, and hand out the disk to whomever we deem worthy." he said the last part half-jokingly. "So once you enter, you can walk up to one of the officials and ask for a dueldisk. But the hitch is...only those that beat the judge may take it home. And to win you need to win at least two out of three games." In this case the country's standard rules still applied. Even though rumors about single-match duels were flying around everywhere. "This of course means that there will be a limit, instead of 8000 lifepoints, we shall all duel with 4000. This is only to speed up the process, since we do not have all day."

Afterwards he opened the floor for questions, and some more explanations. Then when he had explained the rules clearly, the others were finally allowed to enter. Once again a variety of response was evident within the crowd, some ran others walked at a calm pace. Some immediately begged for their disk, others had to wait for their turn. "Hrn, this thing is less heavy then I thought it would be." One of the duelists commented as he received his disk from a judge, whose nametag said Mr. Pulse. "Wait... thats not your real name is it?" He asked the man quickly. "Oh no, not quite. The chief just thought it would be humorous to hand out nickname tags. I mean... What is your name kid?" He took out a note pad and pen. "I am Nero, Nero Jacobus" The judge smirked and took out his checklist. "I wonder if thats an alias as well, never the less you're signed in under that name." He took out his own disk. "Well we might as well begin this, the first of three matches."And I will show you why I earned my nickname."" He started the timer. He clicked a button on his device, while showing Nero how to follow suit, and the two had succesfully activated their machines. "Lets see what this can do.."

Nero's LP: 4000 Pulse's LP: 4000

It was normal here for a judge to take initiative in the first match. Afterwards the winner would decide who took first turn. So Pulse drew six cards, while Nero drew five. "I summon to the field, Raiou the Thunder King!" He called forth a thunder type monster card (1900/800), which could be best described as a lightning rod, that had come to life, with two electrodes hanging at its side. "Huh, have not seen that card before. Must be a promo." He gave the hologram a closer look. "Though I must say, these holograms are very impressive." This was after all his first time playing the game with such advanced specs. "Indeed, and as you can now see. I run a thunder-type deck." The fact of which was rather surprising, since those decks were not to common. "I will also place a trap card facedown. Now I end my turn." He said, leaving Nero to draw a card from his deck. "I wonder what kind of deck you will use, Mr. Nero." He said, making the kid sigh. "Well since you have a pun in your name, I think you will forgive me for mine." He activated a spell from his hand. "You see, I run this kind of deck." It was the fusing card Polymerization.

He took two warrior-type monsters from his hand and combined them. The dark-elemental hero Necroshade and the Light-elemental Sparkman "Ah, I see...E-Heroes." He couldn't help his smile. "Nero the Hero." Of course 'the hero' had heard that line very often. "A well-timed joke is fun and all, but I shall not press that matter. Yet I had hoped to face a deck which was not so common. E-heroes, and D-heroes, are very popular lately." He could not blame the cards. "But sadly, this also means I am well prepared for such a playing style, observe." To Nero's surprise, his polymerized creature faded before it even took form. "What is this? Is this the effect .." He looked forward and saw Raiou. It had caused this. "Yes, this card negates all kinds of special summons. However it must sacrifice itself to do so." So the thunder card left the field along with Nero's fusion warrior. "And I would have liked to summon that card too. Oh well." At least his opponent no longer had any defensive monsters left.

"But, I can still use my normal summon." He called out a water-warrior: E-hero the Ocean (1500/1200) "Direct attack!" He cried out. "Now is a good time to reveal this trap card." He flipped his facedown card, Raigeki Break. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy one card on your side of the field." He discarded a Batterymen monster card and electrocuted the oceanic hero. "Figures." Nero was forced to end his turn, but not before he placed a trap of his own facedown. "My turn." he drew and summoned another monster card. "I normal summon the Thunder Knight (1300/1400), this thunder-monster gains 400 attackpoints for each face-up Thunder-type." The knight included himself in his effect, so it boosted to (1700/1400) "Direct attack." He said, and this time Nero opened his trap. "Sorry, two can play this game." He revealed the card, Widespread Ruin. "If I had a nickle for every time I see that card." Pulse groaned as a trap mine attached to his Knight and blew it to smithereens.

_Thunder Knight 4/1300/1400 Thunder/Light  
__Increase this cards attackpoints by 400 for every face-up Thunder-type monster card on the field._

"Well we're right back to where we started." And this time he did not have a trap handy. "I end my turn, Mr. Nero." He said solemnly. "You know when you say it like that, you make me feel old." He drew again. "Not even my mom calls me by such a fancy title. Anyway I disgress, I'd better make use of this moment." He looked at his cemetery. "Now you know I sent Necroshade into the grave earlier, because of my failed fusing attempt." The judge nodded. "So I can use his effect to summon a high-level Hero without tributes." Once again Pulse agreed. "Well here it comes, I call E-hero Bladedge (2600/1800)." A bronze knight leaped unto the dueling stage, for a hologram it was quite shiny. "Impressive." His adversary simply noted, before he was given a sharp blow across the chest. "Thats looks rather painful, for a vision." Nero said afterwards. "Its okay, its still an illusion." His body did not move much. "Not that that attack was without effect." In one swoop he had lost half his life, meanwhile the kid placed another trap down.

Pulse's LP: 1400

But then when the official drew again, his expression changed. "Too bad ..Nero, unless you got a good facedown, this round is mine." He showed why he was so confident, he played two spell cards: Battery Charger and Inferno Reckless Summoning. "The first spell allows me to pay 500 of my lifepoints to revive a Battery-type monster. So I revive Batteryman AA" It was the one he had discarded earlier for Raigeki Break. "And since a monster with less then 1500 attackpoints was special summoned, the second spell will allow me to special summon two more Batterymen!" Three of the battery-themed cards now walked the field (0/0) "Oh boy. I know what they do, each battery gives itself 1000 points." Since three now haunted the monster zones, all three of them were at maximum strength (3000/3000). "Yet Inferno Reckless Summoning allows the opponent to special summon two more monsters on his field as well." That meant two more blade-edges. There was only one problem "I dont have more..."

Pulse's LP: 900

"I expected that, I never met a duelist who runs three of those. Now..." The thunder trio charged at Edgeman. "Wait, I still have this!" Nero revealed his own trap, Edge Hammer. "By tributing Bladedge, I can destroy one monster on the field, and inflict damage to your lifepoints equal to its attackpower! That means you will lose 3000 points before I get attacked." He hoped to survive round 1 of the match this way. "You forget one thing kid." He started talking as the Bladedge hologram grabbed his hammer and used it to flatten one batteryman. This dropped the power of the remaining two by a thousand (2000/2000) "Edge Hammer...targets original attackpower." Nero gasped, that meant, AA's original power was (0/0)...he would lose no lifepoints at all! "No.." And two 2000-attackers zapped him mercilessly. "You lost this round, Nero Jacobus." He informed him quite calmly as the holograms began to fade again. "Better make the next one count.."

Nero's LP: 0

(To be Continued in Testament 002: Apathy has a Name now)

**New cards used by Nero Jacobus  
**Elemental Hero Necroshade  
Elemental Hero Sparkman  
Elemental HeroThe Ocean  
Elemental Hero Bladedge

-  
Polymerization

-  
Widespread Ruin  
Edge Hammer

**New cards used by Judge Pulse  
**Thunder King  
Thunder Knight (+)  
Batteryman AA

-  
Battery Charger  
Inferno Reckless Summoning

-  
Raigeki Break

_(+) Thunder Knight is the same as the monster uses by those Monarch duelists in YGO GX Season 2. Credit goes to the anime writers for giving me a card that complements a thunder deck so well._


	2. Testament 002: Apathy has a name now

Testament 002: Apathy has a Name now

While all the duels were going on, one person in particular stood out from the rest of the spectators. Mostly because he did not come here to duel, or judge, or even buy any games and toys. Instead he placed himself on a comfortable chair in the shops cafeteria, and had hooked his laptop into the buildings network. It was odd how nobody picked up on a grey-coated fourty-year old in the middle of a toy store, everyone seemed to avoid him. He tapped a few keys, browsing through several sites, Ebay, Amazon and the likes. All the while he kept looking to the background, waiting to see if certain players showed something interesting. "Heh, these people sell the weirdest things on the net." He coughed as he closed a tab that showed a random golden trinket. _"But the things that I need, they are here as well..I can sense it"_

Meanwhile...

"Argh, how could I forget about that original attack bit." Nero moaned, having shis lifepoints recently destroyed because of that oversight. "You still have two chances, kid. However." He raised his hand. "In between matches, you have the option to re-arrange your deck. But you can only do this once, so you can either edit your deck now, or after the second round." Hearing this, the kid thought it over. Nero was not so sure about the latter option, if he wanted to fix some flaws in his strategy, he was better off doing it right now. "I choose to take a break right now." He said, and Pulse accepted. "You have up to 30 minutes to re-arrange your cards. If you have not returned to me in that time, I will assume you dropped out." In the mean time he would just duel some other children. "Sounds fair." He nodded and gave the judge his space.

_"Guess Edge's hammer is out."_

After a few minutes he was done already, but looking back he saw that Pulse was just starting another match, so he would have to wait a while. Nero figured now was as good a time as any to inspect the area. It was not very calm in the toy store, other gamers faced off against the remaining officials. Some losing, some winning, some electing to go two rounds in a row, only to end up losing again.

There was one stand however, which seemed to gather more then average attention. People were mostly just passing by, just very slowly. "Whats going on h.." Soon he saw who was dueling there. It was someone he knew, from school, but not just any student. He only knew her name, but he would not mistake someone like her for another person. The gamer in question, was a blonde with grey eyes, wearing a very discernible goth-like outfit, complete with boots and one of those uncomfortable looking spiked collars. Her name was Cleo, Cleo Caine, and she was currently in duel with another judge.

Cleo's LP: 4000

Judge Bronze's LP: 4000

"I did not know, goths liked to play card games." The guy next to Nero commented, rather amused. Strange though, he did not even know if she was an actual Goth, or if she just liked that kind of outfit. He would respond, but figured that it was not worth his time. She however, did. "You know, you people talk a lot for a couple of observers, why arent you dueling right now?" Caine suddenly said, with a hint of cynicism in her voice. "Oh, right!" The one guy ran off suddenly, as if he remembered something. "Okay then, its my turn I guess." Cleo turned back to the judge, as he drew her cards. "Actually judges usually claim initiative, because.." he tried to explain to her, but she simply ignored him and had already set a monster card facedown. "...but exceptions are known." Bronze groaned, feeling like he was denied some respect. "I am done." The girl said quickly. "_Already?" _Nero was confused, all she had done was place one mere monster card, it had to be a very strong one then. "Very well, now it truly is my turn." He drew.

"My first card will be this! I normal summon the Saber Saurus." The hologram of a ferocious triceratops monster card was summoned from the dueldisk projector (1900/500) "I will set one spell/trap card facedown attack your facedown card." The dinosaur stampeded over to her side of the field and crushed her facedown with ease. "Naturally" Then her Dark King of the Abyss (1200/800) was cast down into that place which he was supposed to rule, causing quite a stir. "Huh? Did I see that right...dark king?" Bronze blinked twice, his eyes werent playing tricks on him. "I did not think anyone still used that card." He was so stunned, he nearly forgot to declare the end of his turn. "Does it matter? A monster card is a monster card right?" She sighed, and placed another card facedown, once again leaving it at just that. "Well, yes but.." The judge was still confused, but he knew he had to act like a professional, even in this matter. "I summon Element Saurus (1500/1200) and declare an attack on your set card with it." Once again his dino charged

And this time a Temple of Skulls (900/1300) was smashed under its feet. "You have to be..joking." He followed immediately with a direct saber strike. "Huh, how did a girl with such cards get recognized as an official duelist?" The audience was equally amazed, some even insulted. "Oh I lost half my lifepoints already? Eh.. " She did not sound too worried herself. "..." The judge ended his turn once more, not knowing what exactly he was up against. "Eh, I will place this one down this time." For the third time in a row, she picked the 'set monster' routine. "Ggrgh, I dont know what you're attempting to do, but it ends here for you." He drew again and summoned the Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo (1200/1300). He could tell her that this monster would ban any special summon attempted by a player, but he did not expect her to do anything like that. "Triple assault, Miss Caine here they come." The rock monster charged head-first, headbutting her facedown monster. "Well that virtual image played out obviously." And the facedown was none other then..

Cleo's LP: 2100

"Spirit Reaper(300/200)?!"

The immortal reaper was a monster that could never be killed in combat, so pushed back the hardheaded fossil with its scythe. "I see, even someone like you has at least one or two effect cards in her deck." He smirked, wondering whether or not this was part of her style. "So you consider this a good card?" She shrugged, not paying much attention herself. "Anything else would have gotten you destroyed." He said and finished his turn, already planning something for the next turn. "Yeah and I would hate that." She said, drawing a card again. "Maybe I will have to use some spells now." She absent-mindedly placed a spell card on her field, it was the Dark Door card. "_Aha, now only one of the judge's monsters can attack her per turn_." Nero thought this was a bit more impressive, against such an army of saurus monsters. "And one more monster facedown, naturally." She still did not seem to worry much. "Miss Caine, you truly are a special kind of duelist." The official said. "However, I have already found a way across your continuous spell."

He activated his own spell, Big Evolution Pill. "I can tribute one dinosaur monster card." He gave up his Element Saurus. "And now for three turns long, I can normal summon any dinosaur-subtype card without sacrifices. A card like this one." He normal summoned the 8-star card, Ultimate Tyranno (3000/2200). "This monster can attack all monsters on my opponents side of the field, or rather...it must." He pointed at her side again. "With a card like this, your Dark Door is invalidated." The T-rex roared and its jaws opened wide. "..." It then took a bite out of her facedown monster, ripping its head clean off, yet a wall of strange flesh remained (1000/1850) "Ah! The illusionary wall!" Nero gasped, he had sprung the trap of Wall of Illusion, when it was attacked it would send its attacker back to the hand of that monsters controller.. "Rgh. Ultimate Tyranno comes back to me." His ultimate dinosaur had been recalled already. "I saw that coming." Cleo joked.

"And by the way, I am tired of taking hits from your holograms." She drew again, and sacrificed her Spirit Reaper. "Not that I mind getting hit, your cards just dont look cool enough." She called forth, of all things, the King of Yamimakai. (2000/1530) "What?" It was a weak five-star vanilla fiend, and yet it outranked anything he had right now. "Especially that sack of bones, its not impressive-looking at all compared to this. No wonder that its a fossil." The Dark fiend gathered black energy and pulverized Pachycephalo with it, costing Bronze some lifeforce at last. "I can not believe this is happening." The audience was even more shocked then the judge himself, how was she doing this? "I guess the rumors were true after all, you are that goth girl everyone is talking about." Bronze suddenly looked more serious then usual. "Took you long enough to realize that." She sneered. "Yes, its you. Caine, the undefeated card game champion...nobody has lasted against you in half a year. Or so they say.."

Bronze's LP: 3200

"Champion?" Nero was as amazed as everyone here. Until this day he did not even know she was a duelist, let alone a champion. "Meh. If you like that title, you can keep calling me that." She seemed to enjoy it herself too. " Undefeated or not, I shall not yield. I chain to the destruction of Pachycephalo." He flipped his trap card: Seismic shockwave. When a dinosaur type monster is destroyed, I can destroy three of your spell and trap zones." He blocked off the three zones next to Dark Door. "Now you can only activate one set one MT card per turn." Only one zone was open now. "So?" She used it to put a trap facedown, her first so far. "Then its my time to make a move." He discarded a dinosaur from his hand. "I can discard this monster card: Destroyersaur, from my hand. This allows me to add the field spell 'Jurassic World' to my hand." He took the spell from his deck and wasted no time activating it. "All dinosaur type monsters gain 300 points." Sabersaurus, his only current dinosaur, powered up (2200/800). "Finally, Big Evolution Pill is still active...therefor, I can resummon Ultimate Tyranno(3300/2500). It will take care of Yamimakai." It looked like Cleo was in trouble now, yet she still had that relaxed look on her face. "You think so?"

She simply flipped her trap card, Bottomless Trap Hole. "What the?" Ultimate Tyranno was still normal summoned, so it could be trapped in her pit, removing it from play. "Ggh, I didnt expect..very well! Saber Saurus attacks" Instead he sent his triceratops to cut down the King, costing her 200 lifepoints. "Set trap card, end turn." Cleo slowly drew her next card. "Time for a spell again..Book of Life. I special summon Spirit Reaper(300/200) from my grave." The magic book could revive an undead. "Ggh, not that again.." And it could remove an opponents dead monster from play, she picked the Element Saurus in his grave. "Wait a second, I thought the reaper would die if targeted by spells." One member in the audience complained. "Guess not." Cleo hissed. "Its indeed not that simple, the Book of life targets a card in the grave, and the reapers own effect only works after its called to the field." As a judge he was aware of any ruling, but he doubted that she was aware of it as well. Never the less, now he faced the immortal one with limited options.

Cleo's LP: 1900

"I do not want to resort to my trap, but .." As he looked at his hand, he realized he had no alternatives "I activate the trap card, Volcanic Eruption. When Jurrasic world is present, it will destroy all cards on the field, even mine!" Suddenly the disk produced the image of a volcano erupting from the floor, and the transparent lava flowed across the tiles, swallowing the door and pill spells, the shockwave trap card and both monsters. "Unfortunately this effect sends me straight to my endphase, so its your turn again." Bronze had made a great sacrifice, but his deck did not give him a simpler method of destroying the Reaper. Or rather, he could not draw a simpler method from his deck. "Well that was overkill, wouldn't you say?" She smirked, and summoned Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams (1300/1800). "Direct attack." Bronze could not believe he was being attacked directly by a card he thought nobody used anymore, and yet here he was. "How can cards like these win tournaments and leagues?"

Bronze's LP: 1900

"I dont know how you got even with me like this, but this is as far as you go." He drew again. "Do you always have to say that?" Cleo wondered. "In my turn, I summon Tyranno Infinity!" He smiled, because his dinosaur was stronger then hers (2000/2000). "Heh, thanks to your bottomless traphole and book of life, two of my dinosaur subtypes are removed from play, and this card gets 1000 attackpoints for each of them!" The infinite T-rex unleashed a sonic wave that erased the ghostly demon. "I set a trap card and my turn is over." He felt like had the upper hand again, he did not want to be ridiculed any longer.

Cleo's LP: 1200

"You know, you should listen more to rumors, then moments such as these wont shock you as much." Ms. Caine stated as she entered her round. "I get to attack now, with this ritual spell card, Contract with the Dark Master." She left the audience stunned as she discarded two monster cards from her hand. Metal Guardian with 5 stars and Lord of Zemia with 4 stars were the sacrifices for the ritual. "Nine stars to call out the monster with 8 stars. I ritual summon Dark Master Zorc (2700/1500)" Bronze was gasping too, she actually managed a ritual summon, with an actual ritual card. "_But, if she attacks with it..my facedown card will stop her_." He looked down at his trap: Survival Instinct. He could use it to remove Sabersaurus in his cemetery from play and gain 400 LP for every removed card. As well, Tyranno Infinity would gain another 1000 points and kill Zorc if it attacked. "_Oh wait, I forgot!" _He had not seen a ritual in so long, he had forgotten that Zorc had an actual ability. By throwing a die, Zorc could destroy a certain number of monsters, without attacking! "Hmm." The goth girl pulled a dice stone from her pocket and tossed it. "!!" It landed on a three, which was more then enough to fulfill Zorcs conditions. "Zorc Inferno." He destroyed Infinity with his effect, leaving her opponent wide open. "Whoa." Naturally, she followed with a direct attack. "iDamnit, even two dinosaurs will only give me back 800 lifepoints./i" And his trap could not protect his LP.

Bronze's LP: 0

"She won?" Nero found himself saying. "I think I did." Cleo shrugged. The holograms disappeared from the room, her match was at an end. "Impossible, she beat me." The official still did not understand how she could be this good. "Hey come on, dont just stand there like a statue. I still have to win the second match." She did not like to wait, and wanted this done with as soon as possible.

"And you, what are you staring at?" She spoke to Nero, directly. "Ehr." Only now he realized, he was the only observer left. "Eheh, we go to school together, ms Caine." He said quickly, wasn't lying either. "We do? Eh, I can't be asked to remember every face." She rasped. "Yeah, but..I did not know you were..a duelist..and that good." He did not know why, but he had always wanted to reach out to her, at least now he had an excuse. "Hm. Its more like everyone else is bad. I mean, nobody tries at all." She stared at the judge, who was still groaning. "But you just won, shouldn't you be a bit happier?" The boy asked. "Maybe, maybe not." Was her apathetic answer. "Won so many times already, it's so boring now... Why are you still here anyway?" She shifted the subject, to him. "Huh?" He blinked. "Dont you have.." Something clicked and he panicked. "A match, gah! I do, damn it!" He still had to duel Pulse. "I gotta go, I hope you win too! Oh my name is Nero..bye!" He retreated with haste. "Like I can remember that name." She said to herself.

(To be continued in Testament 003: ...never strikes twice)

**New cards used by Cleo Caine  
**Dark king of the Abyss  
Temple of Skulls  
Spirit Reaper  
King of Yamimakai  
Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams  
Dark Master Zorc  
Lord of Zemia  
Metal Guardian

-  
Dark Door  
Book of Life  
Contract with the Dark Master

-  
Bottomless Trap Hole

**New Cards used by Judge Bronze  
**Element Saurus  
Saber Saurus  
Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo  
Ultimate Tyranno  
Destroyer Saurus  
Tyranno Infinity

-  
Big Evolution Pill  
Jurassic World

-  
Seismic Shockwave  
Volcanic Eruption  
Survival Instinct


	3. Testament 003: Never strikes Twice

Testament 003: .. Never Strikes Twice

Pulse checked his watch, when he heard a noise in the background. Nero ran down the alley, back into his stand. "Huff..huff..I am..on time..right?" He arrived wheezing and worn out. "Nearly, I almost thought you had backed out. But you're back, and I am ready." He re-activated his dueldisk. "I hope you are too, because after this there wont be any more brakes for you. And if you dont win this match.." Nero nodded. "I know, I know, I will have to give this disk back to you." He inserted the deck back into his disk, and each player drew five cards. "Well you're eager. Good, this time you may go first. Lets throw you a bone." He was thankful for that, but he did not like having the first turn, not with the hand he had. "_Crap, I will have to play defense for now." _He placed a monster in facedown defense mode, and that was it for his first turn. "I see, you'd rather attack me. Well dont fret, you may yet get a chance. I will summon a card you enjoyed in our last duel." He normal summoned, Thunder King the electrode monster(1900/800).

Nero's LP: 4000 Pulse's LP: 4000

"It attacks your set card." The King electrocuted E-hero Burstinatrix the fire warrior (1200/1000), sending holographic sparks and feathers across the room. "Now it is your turn again, Mr. Nero." Pulse waited. "Very well, I summon E-hero Stratos (1800/1600)!" The air elemental was his next hero. It had the power to either take Heroe monsters from the deck or destroy spells on the field equal to the number of hero-monsters on the field. "Ah, too bad that Thunder Kings second effect only allows the player to draw by 'drawing'." And that excluded the ability of Stratos. "Wh..oh blast it. But I can still do this!" He played the field spell. Skyscraper 2 - Hero City "This field will revive a hero that has been destroyed in battle." He planned to ressurect the Burst Lady with his spell. "Hey, do not tell me you can not remember the Kings first power." Once more the thunder monster negated his special summon, sending itself to the grave, to prevent Burstinatrix's return. "No I didn't heh. I just wanted to clear the field." Stratos then launched a direct attack on Pulse, after which Nero ended his turn.

Pulse's LP: 2200

"Ah, I am impressed you planned that far ahead. Very well, if you enjoy revivals, I will show you mine." The judge entered his turn, and summoned a strangely nonthunder monster. "Creator Incarnate(1600/1500), by itself not a threat..however when tributed." The avatar was sacrificed. "I can special summon The Creator (2300/3000) from my hand." In his place came the lightning deity, with the powers of ressurection. "Snap." Nero knew that card was bad news. "Its effect should be known to you, by discarding a card I can revive one monster in my graveyard." He discarded Batteryman AA. "Special summon, Thunder King(1900/800)." The electrode creature hit the field for the second time. "That again.." The kid moaned. "Yes, and now you will receive a dual strike. I attack with King and the Creator!" The holograms launched an electric offense, smiting the duelist and his E-hero Stratos with bolts of lightning. "Looks like the lead is back on my side, Nero." Even though the images were all illusions, they still somehow agonized him. Or was that his own mind fooling him?

Nero's LP: 1600

""Well, we're still not near the end. Here I go." He drew again, and stared in his hand. Right now all he had was a couple of E-hero monsters and a trap card. "I place this card facedown." He thought over his options. "And then I use Skyscraper 2 once more, to revive Stratos!" He still had the field spell for resummoning purposes. "But I know what you want to tell me, Thunder King will negate that effect right?" And just as predicted, the thunder card destroyed itself in order to keep the Air Elemental in the grave. "Heh this is the second time you use that field to get rid of that card. Unfortunately this time, I am not susceptible to a direct blow." Pulse smiled. "I know that, and I wished I could do something besides this." He then summoned E-hero Sparkman (1600/1400) in attack mode, and ended his turn. "Hrm, an outright and unsupported offense? That can not be it." The judge was weary off his facedown card, he had to be baiting him. "Whether it is a bluff or a lure, I shall not hold back now that I got this far"

"First off, that field will go down." He used Mystical Space Typhoon, the magic/trap destroying quickplay spell card, to blow the Hero City away. "No more revivals for you, I am affraid. I on the other hand." He threw away an Electric Virus monster card, to special summon Batteryman AA (1000/0) in attack mode. "Now you will be familiar with this card!" He also played Inferno Reckless Summoning. "Double snap." He could multiply the number of batterymen on his field by three, and each Battery boosted their power by 1000, so now three of them (3000/0) joined to aid the Creator in his fight against the elemental heroes. "I hope for your sake, that you have multiple Sparkmen in your deck." Nero nodded, thanks to the Infernal spell he could at least also multiply his cards, two more Spark heroes came in defense mode. "But the number of cards is greater on my field. Now I dont know what his trap does, so .. I will send the Creator to attack first." The god of rebirth summoned another bolt to smite the one offending Spark Hero. "I activate a trap card!" He cried, but it was to late for his warrior.

Nero's LP: 900

"Now for the rest of my battle phase, I...eh?" He saw Nero's trap card. "Hero Counterattack, when you destroy one of my warriors, I can activate this. You have to pick a card from my hand, and if its an E-hero, I get to destroy one monster on your field." It didnt matter much, since his hand consisted of only E-heroes. But, only one would stop the onslaught right here. "If thats what you want, I select the rightmost card." He closed his eyes. "Well, now you can only blame yourself." He showed what the official had chosen. "E-hero Bladedge!" The bronze alloy knight entered the rematch against his destroyers. "Again?" Pulse was surprised. "Now that you chose this card, I can destroy one of yours! The right most Batteryman AA, heh." One of the batteries combusted, reducing the strength of its brethren (2000/0). ".." Pulse still followed through with his battle phase, as he killed off the defending spark heroes with his stronger batteries.

"You made it to your next round, Mr. Nero, dont waste it." He was not planning too. "Draw!" He peeked, and smirked, at last he had something he could use. "I normal summon E-hero Wildheart (1500/1600)" Right now only Bladedge could kill something that belonged to Pulse. But that was about to change. "..and boost his power with H-heated heart. This spell gives an E-hero 500 attackpoints and piercing ability (2000/1600)!" Now the wildman was the equal of a batterymen. "I will strike twice!" Wildheart leaped into the air, and swung his burning first into the eletric storage unit, the clash resulted in both their deaths. Edgeman meanwhile cut straight through the Creator, its shine already overcoming that of the thunder god. The last remaining monster card now only had 1000 attackpoints. Though Nero preferred to take down the Creator instead. "This duel has a lot of deja vu's, but the kid...is closer to victory then I am.." The judge was glad to see his skills in action.

Pulse's LP: 1900

"And yet, its still not good enough." He had just been given a card, that spelled trouble. "Nero I will show you my greatest thunder card. I normal summon..." The tension rose again, as Pulse gave an ominous introduction to the card he tribute summoned. Giving up the last AA battery, he could call out a mechanical and charged dragonthing. "...Super Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon (2400/1000)" He said. "Thats quite a mouthful, sir Pulse...but" Even this thing could not beat Bladedge, he thought, his warrior was stronger by 200 points. Of course, he was wrong. "This thing has an inner power, Nero. It runs on three kinds of batteries, AA, D and C." The tributed battery was inserted into the voltech dragons side, filling it with energy. "When empowered by the AA-type, it will gain 1000 attackpoints!" He gasped. It (3400/1000) was stronger then Bladedge after all. "Now then, don't let this shock you...if you can forgive the pun." The magnetic beast roared and released a claw of electricity, which impaled and electrocuted the Elemental from the inside, reducing it to fine powder. "Triple snap, now what do I do?"

Nero's LP: 100

"You barely avoided defeat that time. I guess this will be your last turn." He was right as well, there would not be another turn. "Then I will just have to beat you in this very minute, wont I?" He laughed, drawing a card. "Is it that simple then, Nero?" He asked. "Well, it is...with this card!" He activated Miracle Fusion."Oh!" For the next fusion summon he could remove the material monsters in his graveyard from play, instead of his hand. "Guess what I choose, I remove the Edgeman and Sparkman. When bronze and thunder combine...you get." A golden charged hero emerged from the fusion deck. "E-hero Plasma Viceman (2600/2300)" It loomed over the Voltech Dragon. "But its weaker.." Pulse protested. "Yes..but its effect is: I can discard a card from my hand..." He threw away his Bubbleman. card ".. to destroy an opponents monster, and gee I wonder which I should pick." The Viceman shot plasma to suffocate the battery-charged Dragon, leaving the field wide-open. "Here it is, my triumph shot!" Finally it unloaded all its energy on Pulse, reducing his life to zero.

Pulse's LP: 0

He brushed off his coat "That was good Nero, very good." The holograms left once more. "Well then, ready for round three?" He reshuffled his deck. "You waste no time, but neither will I. This round should determine if and who the lightning hits twice." He also reshuffled his deck. Though this time he took some cards from his sidedeck and added them to his main. "And I owed you a bad pun, so here ya go." Pulse just chuckled. "So you did." They were done, neither wasted time and activated their disks immediately. "Lets not beat around the bush, you won last time, you decide who gets the first turn."

Nero's LP: 4000 Pulse's LP: 4000

"Then you can go, as I already said, I like to get the first attack." He drew just five cards. "I will not decline that offer." He drew six cards. "Activate the spell card, Kaminari. It allows me to add a thunder-type monster from my deck to my hand." He searched through his deck, and added the Voltech Dragon to his hand. "However I cant summon the searched card, not in this round. Instead I will set monster in facedown defense mode." He was done for now. "Well I do not want to let you summon that monster card again."

_Thunder Crash, Normal Spell  
__Add 1 Thunder-type monster from your deck to your hand. You cannot summon that monster this turn._

"I will have to make a more impressive opening strike, if I want to ensure my second victory, with the power of fusion!" Nero succesfully activated Polymerization, that was a first time on this day. "I combine Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand, to special summon E-hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200). His effect inflicts damage to the opponent equal to the amount of attackpoints the destroyed monster has. And next to him I normal summon E-hero Sparkman(1600/1400)" He had both fusion summoned and normal summoned in one turn. "Good, good." Pulse commented. "This should be enough for now, so I declare a double attack." Flame wingman burned the judge's facedown to a crisp, and Sparkman hit him directly with a lightning fist. However. "You destroyed Batteryman D (0/1900), it has zero attackpower, so I lose no lifepoints. But you did gather an impressive army for yourself, Nero Jacobus." He spoke as the kid felt that damn tension again. "Hmm"Just to be on the safe side, he placed a card facedown.

Pulse's LP: 2400

"It pains me to destroy it all so quickly. But at last I can use one of these." He took one of the cards he added in from his sidedeck. "I activate Lightning Vortex! By discarding a card from my hand, I get to destroy all face-up monsters on your field." A bolt struck down with accurate precision, nailing both Elemental warriors. "Gah!" They were reduced to a smouldering heap of ash when the spell was done with them. He had lost his defense and offense. "I can not be lenient, you know that. My sidedeck does indeed hold the things I use for a last ditch effort. You should consider yourself proud to have forced me there." He then activated his favorite magic of all, Battery Charger. He revived the thick battery, D-type (0/1900). "_Crap, the dragon_." Pulse tributed his batteryman. "I tribute summon Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon (2400/1000). When it is charged by a D-type battery, it will be shielded from all targeting traps and magic effects." Nero flinched, that meant his facedown card was useless in this match-up. "Direct attack." Voltech charged its energy, and slashed across the duelist with an electric tail.

Nero's LP: 1600 Pulse's LP: 1900

"Ugh, I am lucky enough to not get a seizure from all these flashes and lights." He joked, but he had to think of something quick. "Draw!" It was his turn once more, Nero still had a chance. "Yes!" He was pleased with his new card, and activated it. "Miracle Fusion! You know what it does, heh." The official just watched as he removed two E-heroes in the cemetery, to special summon a fusion warrior. "I will just have to go beyond the power of Flames, and go the shine of a Flare. I combine Sparkman and Flame Wingman in my grave, to call E-hero Shining Flare Wingman (2500/2100)" It gained 300 attackpoints for every grave-bound E-hero: Burstinatrix and Avian, so it (3100/2100) became superior to Voltech Dragon. "If that attack hits me...I am done for!" Pulse cringed, the Shining hero had inherited the burning powers from his strongest component as well. He would take effect damage equal to the attackpower of his dragon.

"I attack!" The hero flew into the air and unsheathed his sword. "I am affraid I have to interfere, Nero!" Then as the sword was swung down, it shattered instead. "Huh? Thats not supposed to.." His opponent had no spells or traps on the field, how did he block his strike? "I understand your confusion, not many gamers deal with this card." He showed a card in his cemetery, Electromagnetic Turtle (0/1900) "Once during the duel, I can end an opponents battle phase, if this card is hidden in my cemetery. But I have to remove the card afterwards." Now he realized what happened. "Yo..you discarded that card, for Lightning Vortex, right?"

_Super Electromagnetic Turtle 4/0/1900 Light/Thunder  
__You can remove from play this card in your Graveyard to end the battle phase when you or your opponent declare an attack._

"Yes..and now its my turn again." Once more he picked a card from his sidedeck. "And this one, alltho not as potent as Voltech, will suffice for your end." To Nero's dismay, he tributed the magnetic monster, for the emperor of thunder. "Zaborg, the thunder Monarch (2400/1000)!" When it was succesfully tribute summoned, he could destroy one card on the field, and the shining flare was its victim. "Trap card!" Nero quickly reacted with Hero Barrier, before the fusion card was killed. "It will block one attack from your side." His trap resolved before Zaborgs effect did, so the few seconds that Flare Wingman was alive, were enough. "Thats good, resisting until the end" He attacked anyway, and the strike was cancelled out. "But dont depend on that luck again, next turn will be even rougher." Nero did not disagree.

The one card in his hand was R-righteous Justice, not very helpful right now. "Draw!" And then...his heart seemed to stop for a whole minute. _"This is.." _He could not believe what he had drawn._ "This is ..Edge Hammer?" _The same card that failed him in round 1, and the same card he thought he had shuffled it out already. "Why is this.." He placed both cards facedown and looked at Pulse. "iI cant win this/i" He figured out that his startled behaviour had ruined any attempt at bluffing his way through Zaborg. "Direct attack." And the Thunder Monarch hit him dead on, ending the duel. "How disappointing."

Nero's LP: 0

(To be continued in Testament 004: My very own dueldisk)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus:  
**Elemental Hero Burstinatrix  
Elemental Hero Stratos  
Elemental Hero Wildheart  
Elemental Hero Plasma Viceman  
Elemental Hero Bubbleman  
Elemental Hero Avian  
Elemental Hero Flame Wingman  
Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman

-  
Skyscraper 2 - Hero City  
H - Heated Heart  
Miracle Fusion  
R- Righteous Justice

-  
Hero Counterattack  
Hero Barrier

**New Cards used by Judge Pulse  
**Creator Incarnate  
The Creator  
Electric Virus  
Electro-Magnetic Voltech Dragon  
Batteryman D  
Super Electro Magnetic Turtle (+)  
Zaborg, the Thunder Monarch

-  
Mystical Space Typhoon  
Thunder Crash (+)  
Lightning Vortex

_(+) Thunder Crash is a GX anime-spell card used by the Monarch-duelists in the 2nd season of YGO GX (Like Thunder Knight)  
(+) Super Electro-Magnetic Turtle is based on the same card that Yugi first used in the Battle City semifinals._


	4. Testament 004: my very own Dueldisk

Testament 004: .. My very own Dueldisk

The holograms faded and his lifepoints were automatically switched to zero, because he knew he was a lost case. "I cant win..." Nero was still disturbed by his own draw, he was certain he no longer had that card in his deck. He would cry foul play or sabotage, if he did not know it would fall on deaf ears. "I have to obey the rules set out by the higher ups. So Jacobus, please return that disk to me." It felt like he was giving away a limb, when he returned the apparatus. But he had to accept this fate, there would be no tournament for him. He tried to keep up an indifferent face as he walked away from the stand, he did not feel like talking with him after this. It all happened so soon, so sudden, and he still could not wrap his mind around it. "How.." He could only blame himself, and his feelings weren't eased by the background noise made by those lucky few that did make it. He could not check if Cleo was one of them, but regardless of what he knew, he assumed she was more fortunate. He felt odd..about all of this.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, he went back home, just like all the victorious and the defeaten. His same old boring home, a simple apartment with simple resources. This tournament would have been one bright light in his dull life. Hell, he even looked forward to school now, but that would not start for another month or two. He had no clue how to fill his time now.

Yet the very next day, something unexpected happened. Nero received a rather large package through the mail, it was light when he picked it up. "Whats this, I dont remember ordering anything?" He saw the tag attached, and read it. "From a dear friend, use it well." That was all there was to the mysterious delivery, no stamps or mailman. He did not often get mail, and certainly not something like this. "This is.." He pulled two things from the package: a smaller box and a folder. The box held a dueldisk, the very same prototype that he used the day before. "How did this happen, I thought I'd lost? He never would have thought he'd be holding one of these in his hands. But it worked and everything, he even managed to produce a lifelike hologram from the device. Hopefully not startling the neighbours. "But, who..who sent me this?"

He looked at the note again, 'a friend' it said. As far as Nero knew, nobody cared enough about him to arrange something like this, and the few friends he had could not pull this off. He would have accepted the disc as a consolation price alone, but with it came the folder, containing detailed information regarding the tournament he was now involved with. It had a time schedule, two plastic cards, certain registration papers. And one note of instructions, signed by the department of Outerdeck itself. "There is no way someone in that company did this for me, Pulse said it himself. I did not deserve this.." He read the note anyway.

_Congratulations on your acquisition of this dueldisk._

_By receiving this letter you will have been officially registered as a duelist in the summer tournament._

_Your designated number is : 0127._

_The contents of your package include the dueldisk which will be required to duel along in the tournament._

_They also include a time roster which shows the time of departure and arrival._

_The tournament itself will be held in the country of Great Britain, the specific coordinates will be given at a later date._

_The red card is your ID-card, with which the company's surveillance system can pick up on your presence._

_Gamers without their ID-card will be thrown of the area by the local officials, so keep it with you at all times._

_The blue card is your Rank-card, that gives access to your profile in the company's system._

_It will be constantly updated according to your victories and/or defeats in the contest._

_Also they can earn you new cards from the database, supplies are readily available, since everything is sponsored by Outerdeck CE._

_We hope to see and hear from you: 0127._

The note was a bit impersonal, but everything seemed to be in order.

Yet then, who was this mysterious friend the package itself referred too?

Earlier, the night before, said friend had made his move. Back at the shop, after all the players had left, Pulse was about to quit shop when someone walked up to him. He had shut off the lights inside his booth, when the stranger spoke. "Hey there, I'd like to get a shot at this here judging thing, while I can." His voice oozed with malevolent intent. "What?" Pulse turned around, and saw the man obscured by shadows. It took a while to get a good look at the guy. "Its you!" He was surprised to see him, but he did know the man. "You know you can not be here anymore, you cant enter this tournament." He protested. "Oh I think I will, and you can not stop me. But its not me thats important here. I have a friend, who needs a dueldisk, eheheheh." His laughter was so loud, the entire building could listen in on it, yet nobody responded. "You're crazy. I can not." Before Pulse could say anything about it, he was pushed against the walls by an invisible force.

"Eheh, I am crazy eh? 'Mad' sounds like a better word to me." And then he was silenced.

But Nero never got to know about this, he did not hear from the friend or the judges in the two days it took him to prepare for the journey. Once he was ready, he went to the place where he was supposed to meet up with other accepted gamers from his region. They were all called towards the harbour, which could only mean one thing. They were going to be transported to England over the seas. Indeed, as he stepped from the bus, he already had the boat in his line of sight. It was hard to miss the boat anyway, not with the massive collection of people that lingered in front of it. A few dozen or so were gathered, some duelists, most of them were merely friends or family of the duelists. Nero lived on his own, so he had nobody to say goodbye to. When he told his parents, they agreed to let him enter the contest, since he was alreayd doing so well living on his own. They however were too busy to see him off. Nero felt somewhat lonely, seeing all those other people being so close in their final few moments together. It would have been less of a pain if any of his school friends were with him, but few of them played the card game.

"Whats the hold up anyway!" Some of the more impatient children started to complain about the lack of action coming from the boat. It had the Outerdeck-logo right there, antagonizing them. Eventually some official-looking people came from the vessel, holding entire cases of paper. "Whats this?" Their arrival garnered even more moaning. "Relax children, and duelists. The time has arrived for you to take your place in our prestiguous event." The main man started his speech which calmed some of them down. "But.." Then it started to get loud again. "You have only reached phase 2 of the preliminaries, I am affraid." He nodded at his accomplices and they walked out into the crowd, still holding their forms. "There are still to many players for the tournament. From all over the globe, there are duelists coming, and the things is. Only 64 people get seeded." This came as quite a shock to everyone, silencing even the wildest. "Just like with the judgings from your local departments, every country has made its own national arrangements. And ours will involve the cruelest form of skill testing, some might say."

A collective moan was let out when everyone saw the papers held by the proctors. "A written test?" Nero did not expect this, not at all. "Yes, a written test. An exam comprising of 64 questions, all pertaining to the information all duelists would and should know, to become succesfull. To your left you will see a row of tables, please take a seat and the proctors will deliver to you the test paper. Each is unique in its contents, so it is useless to try and cheat. Furthermore we have installed audio and visual recorders all over the area, so we can examine the validity and honesty of your results afterwards." They had certainly prepared well for this torture session, this had to be the worst kind of trial ever. Allthough Nero was in the know-how off card related trivia, he did not know every little detail. The examiner did not even explain the score system, or what grade was needed to be accepted beyond this second stage. "Another snap."

And yet the test itself was not as hard as he had expected. The questions came in a set of three, the first were simply about monster card stats, effects and rulings. He knew most of those from heart, and they only asked about the well-known cards like the Monarchs and Cyber Dragon. The second set was more complex and time consuming, involving theoretical duel settings, it was a lot like math. The final set was more out-of context, regarding matters like national leagues and awards, promo's, and the company itself. That was the hardest part for him, and after he had filled in the final question, he ws not so certain if he had made it. "Hand in your papers now please, it will take about 15 minutes to score all the tests." The examiners took back the forms, sometimes from groaning gamers. Nero was fidgeting a lot himself "Calm down will you, its just a test." A girl rasped as his jittering movements started to bother her. "Oh sorry ehr..hey its you."

The girl in question was someone he recognized in a heartbeat. "Cleo!" She blinked, not knowing if she, knew him. "Yes thats my name, have we met?" Nero did not know if he should have felt disappointed. "Wait, yes we did..in that store, and we go to the same school too!" He said. "Oh..that kid, I dont think I cared enough back then to remember your full name." She stated rather bluntly. "Nero..Nero jacobus." He repeated what he said not two days ago. "Oh, well thats too long." She shrugged and was about to walk away. But just then the scores were anounced. Or rather, the names of the people that did not pass were given over the intercom. His name was not in it, neither was hers. "I made it!" He nearly felt like jumping into the air. For once he passed a trial without external and mysterious assistance. "And you got passed stage 2 as well!" She just nodded. "Thats amazing!" He smiled. "No, not really. I just filled in whatever blank I wanted, for some reason that was enough." She sounded dead-serious too. "Huh, lucky maybe?" He also shrugged. "It was multiple choice after all."

The scores did not take long to be handed out to every duelist that did pass, they were handed over as soon as they stepped on board. The less fortunate were forced to give away their cards again, but could keep the dueldisk prototype as a consolation price. Most of them were planning to sell it on ebay right afterwards anyway. But Nero and Cleo were not among them, since they managed to answer enough of the questions to get an acceptable grade. "80 was required huh." he saw his test sheet, it was exactly as he remembered it. "86 thats good enough for me." He smirked. "What did you get?" He asked Cleo. "I did not know we were so familiar with each other?" She said coldly. "Oh come on, you're about the only one I know here." He replied. "Ugh fine, I got a 100." She showed her sheet off as well. "Wait..thats a perfect score!" he gasped. "I guess so, that only shows how shoddy this system is." Because as she already told him, she really did fill in all of those questions without even looking at them.

Unknown to him and everyone on board however, was the fate of an the unfortunate judge named Pulse. It was already late when they found him, and nobody noticed the oddities of Pulse's behavior. Not that there was much to notice, since he had been lying in a vegetative state for who knows how long. Whatever had occured with him, it had left him like this.. His body was only found until after the dueldisks and folders were sent across the country. Other store employee's found his body and sent him to the hospital. Nobody even bothered to make a connection between him and the gamers he had accepted and rejected for the contest. In any case Nero was about ready to step unto the boat when Pulse was recovering, Nero's actual defeat was now hidden from records.

To be continued in Testament 005: New Shores


	5. Testament 005: New shores

Testament 005: New Shores

The ship left the shorelines, leaving the country behind at last. The examiners also stayed behind, save for a select few. The remaining aids projected that the journey would take them 14 hours, so they had plenty of time to prepare for the trials ahead. They also heard then and there, that most duelists had already been carried over to England, and they were some of the last travellers. Meanwhile of all the people that came to take this trip, only 5 or so had passed the written exams. Cleo was a topscorer, but she had to share that title with another kid. The three others on board were two guys and a girl, they all came from the same country. There was Nikolai "Ned" Zoro, not to be confused with the swashbuckling hero Zorro, the gaming genius. He carried around a laptop everywhere and also received the perfect score of 100. The girl was Venice Gray, who hardly stood out if you compared her to someone like Cleo. She seemed to be a tiny timid person, but somehow still made it this far, her score was 93.

The most prominent member of this exclusive club however, was a kid called William Carter. Not because of his enthusiasm, but rather his lack thereof. "Where are the beds on this thing?" Was the first sentence that headed towards the officials. And after being informed of their position, he wasted no time heading there. Even though it was the middle of the day, and he apparently had all the time in the world to sleep on the way here, he still went off to ly down some more. However his presence was apparently not approved off by everyone. "How can such a slacker be accepted into the ranks of duelists such as I?" Said the contemptuous Nikolai. "I slaved for weeks to practise for any situation that the judges could throw at me. I bested both rounds in record time, I even got a topscore. And he gets on the ship with a lowly score of 81. Its disgraceful." Will was also the lowest scorer of the gamer quintet. "You should not take behind his back like that." Venice whispered. "He was the one that went off, feh." Ned scoffed.

Of course a certain someone could care less. "Whats the big deal, then, this is just a cardgame. Its not like you have to have and IQ of 200 to win." Cleo said. This ticked Ned off rather well. "What? You dare to treat this massive gathering of variables and data as a mere game? The tournament is everything, effort is everything!" He protested. "Then why arent you insulting me? I did not even try and I scored as high as you." If there was one thing she hated, it was arrogance. And if there was one thing she loved, it was beating the sense into the arrogant. Time after time people under-estimated her, and despite her own apathy towards the game, she found it amusing to trample such a shallow pride. "You talk as if you want to duel me." He closed his laptop at last and stood up. "It would be the perfect way to settle this supposed 'evenness' between us." he grinned. "Sure why not?" She halfsmiled. "Wait, I dont think thats a good idea." Nero tried to stop the argument. "Oh dear, they wont like this." Venice just sighed.

And she was right, a proctor walked by at that exact moment. "I am affraid there will be no dueling between registered duelists, not on this ship." He informed them. "What?" Ned was not happy at all with this news. "How am I supposed to test my skills then? Train my deck, my strategies" He shook his head. "Until we reach the area where gamers are unrestricted, all duels will have to be played against the on-board AI system. This is to allow you passengers to play within a controlled environment, and also to uphold fairness of the actual contest. It would be inappropriate to fight before everyone is brought to the same place." Ned understood at last. "Ah I guess this is to prevent to many secrets from coming out. But those dueling systems seem sufficient for my needs." He then asked where the system could be found, and walked off. "Hey that sounds pretty interesting, doesnt it Cleo?" Nero wanted to see it for himself. "Now we're on first-name basis to? Meh.." She however was not interested and followed Wills example, she went to her room.

"Hnn...I wonder if she really wants to be here."

He also tracked down the room which held the dueling intelligence system. Two platforms had been raised somewhere on the second floor of the cruise-ship. They drew attention from the other passengers, but since none of them played the game, they did not use them. As Nero entered, Nikolai was already engaged in a fight with the computer, he had switched the CPU-level to 5. It appeared he used some sort of machine deck, which made quick work of the enemy. "This is to easy, I figured it out already." He snorted. Yet there was someone else here too. "Then why dont you try the higher levels, eh Ned?"

Carter came in through another door. "You? Why are you here?" Zoro was surprised to see the lazy bum walk around again. "Hey I have to admire the handy-work of my brothers company, dont I?" He stroked the one side of the platform. "Besides I cant sleep with all that noise, so I might as well kill some boredom here." The other blinked a few times. "Friggin nepotism, I will have none of it." And stormed off the platform. "Nepotism, brother?" Nero was confused. 'William has a brother working at Outerdeck company." A shrill voice suddenly spoke up from behind Nero, startling him. "Whoa..oh Venice, its you."

He calmed down again. The girl was quiet all the time, no wonder she could sneak up on people. "Brother you say?" He asked her. "Yes, Ned yelled about that before. Andre Carter works at the company that sponsors this tournament, and co-produced the dueldisk and dueling arena systems." Suddenly he got why Ned was so upset. "Oh I see..he thinks Will is only here because his brother brought him this far." She nodded. "Well, he does not seem like the type, but then again.." Even if the rumors were true, who was he to criticize him. He was only on this ship thanks to an unknown. "How does Ned know all this?" Was his next question. "Oh, he knows all kinds of things, thanks to his connections." Ned had the power of cable and google on his side.

"Huh, maybe I should try it out." Will yawned. "You want to actually do something?" Zoro laughed. "Hey, dont confuse sloth with efficiency." Carter pointed at him. "You dare say that your methods are breeding efficiency? Bah!" He spat. "No, I just dont like to go through trouble when I dont need to. You think I got a low score because I am bad at this game right? Playing a duel against the CPU on the second highest level should show you that I can actually fight. And in that case, you will have to get off my back, okay?" So in short, he only did this to get Ned to shut up. "Heh, go ahead." Carter did, he started up the system and inserted his deck. "Okay. But I should warn you, I only got a low score because I figured out how many questions I needed to answer to get a passing grade, and stopped writing after that to catch some rest." The computer activated as well, talking in its monotone and genderless voice. "_**System initialized, selecting random deck from database... deck chosen: Gadget Swarm**_."

"Oh...darn"

CPU's LP: 8000 Wills LP: 8000

"You're not backing out are you?" Ned cackled. "Course not! I just didn't expect that deck, what must level 10 be like?" He then drew six cards from his deck. "Like that makes a difference, a slacker like you needs to start at level 1, heh." Zoro sat down to watch this amusing spectacle. "I hope he wins." Venice sighed. Nero did not say anything, but found it easier to agree with William, then with someone as angry as Ned. "I summon Cyberdark Edge (800/800)" Apparently Carter used a cyberdark deck, which made Ned laugh some more. "I also place a trap card. Thats the end of my turn!" The computer then added the field specifications into its databanks and started formulating a battle plan. "_**Round one, draw phase, standby phase, main phase**_." The computer now had six holographic cards floating in the room, it did not use real cards. "_**Set card face-down in magic and trap zone. Then normal summon Yellow Gadget (1200/1200), activate effect of Yellow Gadget and add Green Gadget from deck to hand."**_

This was the power of the gadget swarmers, they could search each other, yellow to green, green to red, and then back to yellow. Add in some annoying counters and you had your perfect trouble-maker. _**"Battle Phase: Yellow Gadget attacks Cyberdark Keel." **_The machine punched the metallic dragon in the face. "Then I will activate my quickplay spell card." He flipped Power Wall. "I can discard cards from my deck, to decrease the attackpower of an attacking monster!" He discarded 5 cards from the top of his deck, to empower the darkling by 500 points (1300/800). "Now your card will be destroyed CPU!" The yellow one was slashed by the darklings sharp edges._** "Damage recorded, main phase 2, end phase." **_The AI was done "Heheh Will, why are you talking to a computer?" Nikolai asked.

CPU's LP: 7900

_Power Wall, Quickplay spell  
__Activate this card when your opponent declares an attack, discard cards from the top of your deck (Up to 7), increase the attackpower of a monster you control by 100 for every discarded card, until the endphase._

"I dunno, I do know that its my turn again!" He drew and immediately summoned Cyberdark Horn (800/800). "Now, lets show the audience that the spell, which I used just now, had more benefits then costs. When a Cyberdarkling is summoned, I can equip it with a level three Dragon-type in my cemetery." He searched his grave, and located one he could use. "I equip Cyberdark Horn with a Hunter Dragon (1700/100), the strongest Lv3 Dragon in the game." The horn absorbed its stats (2500/800). "He used Power wall to send dragons into the cemetery, while destroying an enemy's monster, so you at least know about the power of card-dumping." Even Ned had to acknowledge Wills skills somewhat now. "I attack!" Horn charged at the computer directly. _**"Attack noted, trap card activating."**_ It flipped Ultimate Offering. "Huh? Thats the card that allows a player to..normal summon at the cost of 500 LP." They didn't get why it was activated now. "Idiots, Ultimate Offering also works during the opponent battle phase."

CPU's LP: 7400

Carter flinched, as the CPU payed 500 LP to normal summon Green gadget (1400/600) from its hand. "_**Green gadget effect activated, add Red Gadget to hand. Reactivate Ultimate offering, normal summon Red Gadget(1300/1500), and add Yellow Gadget to hand." **_Now he faced two gadgets instead of an empty field. "Rghh, I will attack anyway." Cyberdark Horn impaled the Red Gadget. "Heh, even if you have skills. I dont think a gadget deck will be so easily trounced." The system had to pay a lot of lifepoints to create its army, yet now it was beginning to outnumber William.

CPU's LP: 5700

Now the computer began its turn, this time Will did not have a trap to save his cyberdarks. _**"Main Phase, reactivate Ultimate Offering."**_ It payed 1000 lifepoints for two extra normal summons. "Oh for the love of Pete." In one turn it summoned a whole new set of Gadgets, one Greens and one Red and Yellow. "But they shouldnt be able to destroy his dragon." Venice protested softly. _**"Initiate normal summon of main phase."**_ They forgot, it could still make a regular costless normal summon. "_**Tribute Yellow Gadget and Red Gadget. Tribute summon of Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon (3000/2000)" **_A mechanical dragon appeared to start his true problem. Despite the fact that Gadjilton was not a broken card in nature, and on level 10 it would not even be in the CPU's deck. **"Battle Phase: Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon attacks Cyberdark Horn." **And so it did, crushing the machine underneath its antique metallic wings. Luckily only the Horns equip was destroyed, it itself survived (800/800).

CPU's LP: 4700 Wills LP: 7500

_**"Special effect is activated, inflict damage."**_ Then suddenly Carter lost an extra 1000 lifepoints. "Owch!" This was because of the Dragons inheritance powers. If a Yellow Gadget was tributed for it, it would do 600 damage to the opponent when he lost a monster to it, and the Red Gadget made it so that whenever he lost lifeforce, he would lose 400 extra points. Thus the total damage would be a thousand each hit. _**"Continue Battle phase." **_It stated coldly, as the Green Gadget wasted the weakened Darkling, leaving his field wide-open. "So, ready to throw in the towel now?" Nikolai wondered.

Wills LP: 5900

"Well I could, but I'd rather suffer this thing then your ranting." He entered his turn. "The only reason it did not summon more Gadgets, is because of the new ban list. But.." Carter drew again, and summoned Cyberdark Keel (800/800) equipping it with the same Hunter Dragon in his grave (2500/800) "I attack the Green Gadget." Keel cut down the gear robot "And since its Keel who is attacking, you lose an extra 300 points due to his special effect. When it makes a kill, it gets to do effect damage as well, ha!" But this all he could muster, he only placed a spell facedown before he gave his turn back to the artificial enemy.

CPU's LP: 3300

_**"Main Phase. Summon monster card, Boot-Up Soldier, Dread Dynamo (0/2000) Then activate spell card Machine Duplication."**_ Even more bad news. Machine Duplication made two copies of any machine with less then 500 attackpoints, the dynamo had only zero, the math was clear. _**"Special summon two Dread Dynamo cards (0/2000)" **_And then thanks to their effect, when a gadget hit the field, they would all gain 2000 attackpoints. And the CPU still had one gadget in his hand _**"Reactivate Ultimate Offering, normal summon Green Gadget (1400/600)" **_And like clockwork, it booted up the dread soldiers (2000/2000) "Holy.. if those things hit him." Nero gasped. "He will lose." Zoro said with a smirk, he looked forward to it. _**"Battle Phase: Ancient Gear Gadjilton Dragon attacks Cyberdark Keel." **_

CPU's LP: 2800

It seemed like this was the end of William Carters interactive debate. But he knew how to turn the tables, in one instant even. "Gotcha!" He flipped Limiter Removal, a spell any machine duelist used since it doubled the power of their monsters. In this case it doubled Keels current strength (5000/800), and the cyberdarkling returned the favor to the Antique Dragon, cutting it in tiny pieces, inflicting 300 effect damage at the same time. "Impossible!" The others were astounded. "Surprised, Ned?" Gadjilton was gone, and the computer could not attack with its other cards, their power could not even surpass half of Keel. _**"End Phase"**_ Of course there was a downside to the always amazing Limiter Removal, and Keel and the defending Edge were destroyed before Will got to draw a card "Heh, but now what? All your cybers are in the cemetery!"

CPU's LP: 500

He yawned and played the card he drew. "I special summon a Cyber Dragon (2100/1600)." The road to the computers defeat was exceedingly simple, in the end it had wasted so much of its own lifeforce for the gadgets, that a mere blow would do it in. "I target and attack the Green Gadget." Cyber Dragon roared mechanically and fired with an evolution burst stream. The energy destroyed the Green Gadget and along with it, the computer. _**"Lifepoint of unit is zero, defeat accepted. Winner: William Carter"**_ Itand terminated the game. "He did it." Ms Gray started clapping, albeit slowly. "I can't believe it, rrgh you." Nikolai was naturally furious. "I still refuse your presence here!" He pointed fiercely, that was all he could manage ."Whatever man, as long as you dont disturb my sleep anymore, that was the deal."

CPU's LP: 0

"Wait, William." Nero walked up to Carter, as he stepped down from the platform. "In that last turn, you could have used Overload Fusion." He pointed at the spell card he saw in his hand. "You could have used that to fuse the three Cyberdark cards in your graveyard, and summon a Cyberdark Dragon. Why didn't you?" Will chuckled in response. "Hey a duel like this does not have to be flashy. If I can destroy the enemy with a simple topdeck, why bother with something complicated?" He put the cards back in his pocket. "I mean, effort does not give me bonus points.." He yawned and walked away. "Wake me when we arrive..later." And left the room. _"I guess Nikolai wouldn't hate him as much, if he did not act so carefree." _He sighed, wishing he could be free of worry too.

(To be continued in Testament 9: Six point four)

**New Cards used by William Carter  
**Cyberdark Edge  
Cyberdark Horn  
Hunter Dragon  
Cyberdark Keel  
Cyber Dragon

-  
_Power Wall_  
Limiter Removal  
Overload Fusion

**Cards used by CPU  
**Yellow Gadget  
Green Gadget  
Red Gadget  
Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon  
Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo

-  
Machine Duplication

-  
Ultimate Offering


	6. Testament 006: 64 Contestants

Testament 006: 64 Contestants

Afterwards, Will found himself comfortably snoozing in his own quarters, having ensured a Ned-free time period until the inevitable landing at England. He would remain there for the rest of the trip, not even bothering to train or converse with other trainers. Nikolai was crankier then usual, and he was likely to bite someone's head off if they dared to talk to him. So after Nero was done testing the AI system for himself, there were few left to talk too. "_Even if I know where Cleo is, I doubt she is interested in my 'adventures against the powers of a level 7 CPU system_" If you thought about it,it did seem kind off overblown for a mere card game, all these dueldisks, holograms and arena's. But that was all part of the game's charm, why else would people like Nikolai be so devoted to it? As he walked along the starboard side of the ship, he heard a sound coming from one of the open rooms, and drew closer towards it. The first he noticed as he entered was a somewhat large TV screen plastered against the wall.

He was in the ships cantina, where various occupants were seated at tables, some observing the news on the screens. "What is this?" He looked up and saw some strange kind of news broadcast, a live report from Great Brittain apparently. "Shouldn't you know?" A passenger asked him. "Thats where we are headed right?" Another stated, by now it was obvious what he was looking at. "Thats..the stage?" A large colloseum-like arena was on screen, surrounded by several smaller stadiums. "And since you have a dueldisk on your hand, you must be one of the lucky kids to enter." The others smirked, they were simply on this boat to get to England. Yet the fact that Outerdeck borrowed this ride for several of their duelists was not a secret to them, it would have been impossible to hide the oversized platforms anyway. "Yeah we should arrive in about two hours, but apparently you're not going to be there first." He could see it clearly, hundreds of people were there, surrounding the colloseum.

"You're kidding me, now they cover this game on TV?" A familiar voice harped at the very sight of this newscast. The sentence "Cleo..where were you?" Was Nero's instinctive first question, and she did not like it one bit. "Again with the closeness. Meh, this ship is big, but not that big. You should just look better." At that point he though it would be better to stay silent. "You're another duelist huh?" A man sitting at a table asked. "Its harder to recognize you without a dueldisk." She just glared at him. "Yeah, slugging that thing around on my wrist is my idea of fun. And you are..." She did not understand why they would watch that show at all, and she still did not know why it was being shown. "Ah excuse me miss. I am just a simple observer. See." he pulled something from his pocket and showed his ID ticket. "Observer?" It was similar to Nero's, except his was green. His name was also on it, instead of a number. "Oh..one of those."

"Indeed, I payed big money to see you kids duel. Every contest has an audience you know. These green cards are handed out to people who buy tickets to the tournament, but do not want to play for themselves." Cleo still did not look to happy. "But you probably wanted to ask, why is this on television? Well the channel you see is hosted by Temple Soft. Its a french channel, from, naturally, a french company. They were the ones who created the dueldisks that you have on your arm." He pointed at the device around Nero's wrist. "Some inventor named Loveless made them, as a general-purpose hologram-emitter. Outerdeck repurposed the invention for their game and now they both make millions, or so they say. They at least made a lot of other companies jealous." That explained a bit, however it would take a lot more to please the goth girl. "Ugh, so much wasted money." She sighed. "You seem to know an awful lot for a mere passenger though." Nero was not to comfortable around him. "Oh, I just know these kinds of things. I stay well-informed. But I have to go now, later kids." He wandered off. "How pointless."

The rest of the report went on about how more and more people arrived from all over the world, how the other media was not even allowed on the scene, and how exclusive this whole ordeal was. So far Nero had to thank his French classes to keep up with the information. "Huh thats odd, they say about 50 duelists are already there, but that there are only 5 expected rounds in the tournament." Evidently, more people had failed the second trial then the first trial. "Figures, they will cut our numbers in half again, just to make everything look pretty on the schematics." Nikolai showed up suddenly, deriding the contents of the journal. "Cut in half??" He was shocked. "Dont you see it? The format will be a standard pvp tournament, there's five rounds, meaning 63 matches and 32 competitors. They kept this information from us until now, but there will be a third trial as soon as all sixty four all on land. I will be looking forward to it, because there is nothing that can surprise me."

This news stayed with Nero until the land got in sight. At the same time Venice looked even more nervous then he was, shivering all the way. Will, who had recovered from his nap, was very relaxed though. Ned liked to blame it on his brother. "Either he was told before hand, or he has been given a get-through-the-trial-free-card." He spoke loud enough for everyone to hear him, but nobody bothered to comment. All concerns would soon be payed off by the inevitable docking. The ship entered the harbor, which was only a few miles off from the actual area. They were then put on a bus, and this trip only lasted half an hour. "Why cant they drive on the right side, like the rest of the world?" Cleo would however take some time to get familiar with the country. "Ehr, actually.. more then one country drives.." Ned tried to correct her. "Dont care.." But she ignored him before his voice got too much on her nerves. "I dont know about you, but I cant wait to meet some other duelists." Will moaned.

And so they did, they were dropped off in a small city, that hosted the tournament. They were greeted with many cheers and shouts. "Ah you are from block D I presume: Caine, Carter, Gray, Jacobus and Zoro." An officiant approached them, once they took every bag from the bus. "Cards please?" They quickly showed both of their cards. "Everything seems to be in order. Well then enjoy your stay here, the tournament will start the day after tomorrow." Before he could go however, there were some questions the kids'd like answered. "Wait, what about this mysterious third trial?" Nero inquired. "Hmm. Don't know what you are talking about, I am affraid." He seemed as clueless as they were. "Then what was all that talk on the TV? And where are all the other duelists?" He just chuckled. "Oh they're around, either checking out the hotel rooms they were granted, the ships they now have access to, or dueling each other right now. The entire city is your playground, for today and tomorrow.""

That was true, the ban had been lifted, they could duel if they wanted. After that speech he took off, and so did the bus. They were now stuck here, waiting for the trial and the fights. "Well, I suppose you want to duel me right here and now eh?" Will looked at Zoro. "Are you insane?! This is all new data to me. I have analyze the situation re-evuluate the chances and odds. I can not head off into a duel straight off the bat!" He clamped unto his laptop and scurried off, narrowly forgetting his other supplies. "But we shall meet again, whether we are seeded against each other or not." The others might have been less frantic, but they still did not know what the last trial was going to be. "Well, we should at least be able to tell who is a duelist and who isnt." Gray knew they would have to wear the dueldisk in this area. "Whatever." Cleo'd rather not be bothered, she headed straight for the hotel. "So, Nero right? Lets go check out the town!" Carter suddenly grabbed his shoulder. "I want to see the other duelists here." Nero was of course confused. "What happened to taking it easy?" Will smiled. "The time for sleeping was then, now its time for action."

Once Nero had persuaded Carter to first drop off the bags and get the keys for their hotel room, they were finally ready to inspect this town. And it was just bustling with activity, an event of this magnitude was quite profitable for the locals. Even though most of the enterprises were formed by the company itself, there were some few services in between that tried to make a quick buck. Strangely there werent all that many duelists around in this area. Either they were at the hotel or were inspecting the colloseum. Will and Nero first checked out whatever food establishment they could find, and then went off to find some gamers. "So when does the efficiency kick in again?" Nero asked him. "Dont get me wrong, we're not just wasting our time here. I just want to check the place out."

"We already quenched our thirst and hunger, so now we can gather information." He hated to admit it, but Nikolai was right in one thing. "There is no sense in worrying about the trial, but it does not hurt to at least find out what others know and have done..that way I can tell what I don't need to do anymore." He explained, and his friend just followed with that story. "Ah look here, cheap stands." Before them stood an entire street filled with streetshops, like a giant bazaar. They were the lowest kind of exploiters, most of them did not even live here. In fact some of the duelists themselves joined in on it, selling off items at high prices, items like cans, caps, trinkets, and obviously trading cards. "Strange, why would players waste time here, maybe there is some credit to be had?" Carter wondered. "Well if we want to ask them something, we probably will have to buy something from them." They did not know where to begin, until they were spoken to by a strange man.

"Psst, you kids, would you like to have your future read?" They glanced to the left, and saw a man that could not be any older then they were, dressed in red robes and wearing a golden necklace. "A fortune teller? Now I have seen everything." Nero tried to hold back a smile. "Well where else would you expect our kind, I mean this is a card game tournament after all." He raised his voice a little. "I mean..the future is in the cards." He showed them his table, which had all the usual signs of a hokey predictionists stand. Yet there was no crystal ball, instead he had a deck of cards. "Oh of course, Tarot divination." Carter smirked. "That kind of nonsense." This upset the seer. "Hey listen here, nonbeliever. I will have you know that I am the greatest foreseer of this century." Even though the century barely started yet. "I will tell you my name, so you can start admiring it." He took of the hood of his red cloak, showing that he was at most in the early 20's and had silver-ish hair. "I am called Colin Sailve, the master of fate."

He introduced himself with great pride and enthusiasm. "Hrm, nice entrance, but can you really use those cards?" Carter was not so sure, especially since he saw something shining under his sleeve. "Hey that's a..dueldisk!" Nero gasped. "What? Oh yeah, I am a duelist here, number 0013." He temporarily raised his sleeve to show of the device, it was the same model as theirs. Ignore the number though, that was just bad luck." He coughed. "Now do you want your future read or not?" He grunted. "Eh, might as well." Nero shrugged, he had nothing else to do. _"If anything Colin might know more about the rules here then we do"_

To be continued in Testament 007: Future's Favorite


	7. Testament 007: Future's favorite

Testament 007: Future's Favorite

"By the way, what is your name?" He asked quickly before the duelist could sit down. "Shouldn't you know that?" Carter joked. "Hey give a guy a break, I havent even gotten a chance to read you yet. And its not like cards can spell out entire names." He said loudly. "Well my name is Nero Jacobus, and this is my friend William Carter." He pointed at his partner. "Just say Will, its faster." William added. "I see, well now lets get this show on the road." He pulled out his cards, both major and minor arcana, placing them down. "_Well at least his cards dont look like they came from the nearest convenience store_." Sairve spread the cards out over his table in a V-formation, 7 cards all in all. "Here goes" He flipped over the first card. "Death, now thats a good start"

Of all cards he drew, he had to get that one. "Wait what?" Nero panicked. "No, no its okay. The Death card only means the end of something important in your life, not _always_ your life itself. This is the first card, which represents the past." That did not put him at ease completely. "Well I can't say anything important in my life has ended so far." He scratched his chin. "Good, because I am a special fortune teller, you know. Whatever I see, will or has, Not, happened. Heh." He said with pride. "Really now?" Carter left his responses at that. "Lets continue shall we." He flipped the second card, representing the present. "The Hanged man, hmm." Jacobus apparently was a magnet for the gloomy Arcana. "This can be interpreted as a great sacrifice or selfdestruction, so in your case you wont have to expect any of that." This had to be the weirdest reading he had ever seen. Colin went further into his timeline, his hopes and fear, his best course of action, obstacles and influences. "And finally!"

He flipped the last of the 7 cards, representing the future itself. "The Wheel of Fortune, hnn that can not be good. If It were any other fortune teller, I'd congratulate you right here and now. But according to this, you will lose somewhere..oh lets say round three." He estimated, clearly at random. "I don't know what to say." Nor did he know what to think of all this "What kind of a seer anti-predicts the future?" William inquired. "The best kind! You cant get this kind of service elsewhere."

"Please dont bother, Colin. You know very well your divination is a complete mess."

Another voice came from the left, its source was the stand standing but a few inches away from Sairve's. "Who said that!" He stood up, possessed by a sudden fury. "Children, you should not listen to him. Whatever he predicts never happens." They also turned to face the one who spoke. "Thats why you pretend to see the outcomes in reverse, dont you Colin?" They then saw who it was, it was another fortune teller, a woman dressed in a purple and rouge yet somehow less extravagant outfit then Colin. "You again.. Ananka De La Isla" He did not need his powers to know this person.

"I should have known that you'd set up shop right next to me, just to steal my customers away." Colin cursed. "I am more or less liberating them from you, Colin. You should not be telling the future, just stick to card games." She knew him as well, it must have been some age-old rivalry. "Feh, in case you two wonder who she is.." Sairve was the one to eleborate. "We both came here before anyone else, since we both foresaw this was where the tournament would be held. She is a divining duelist too." She nodded and showed the disk around her wrist. "And you both decided to sell your skills here?" He nodded. "Yes she never leaves me alone!" She shook her head. "I can't help it that you are bad at this, you're just doing this for your mothers sake. But she was just as bad as you were." And that...was the last straw for him. "Oh now you have gone to far!" He slammed his table over, scattering his cards all over. "You had this coming for weeks!"

He activated his dueldisk and inserted his deck. "Ehr guys, a duel, now?" Nero's attempts at calming the man were fruitless. "Well who am I to decline, I have my pride too." The lady also activated her disk. "Its pointless Nero, these people cant ignore their hubris, not many can." The two decided to step away instead, watching from the sidelines. "Whatever exotic country you are from, I will send you back there, Ananka. But I am courteous enough to give you the first turn." He drew five cards. "There is no need for such loudness, I have already seen the outcome of this fight." She drew six. "Well then, let me show you the power of my deck. The true Arcana power." She called forth a card. "Of the Major Arcana, I summon the second Force, the High Priestess!" A very bizzare looking creature emerged, vaguley resembling a female priest. (1200/1200) "Arcana deck?" Nero had not seen that before. "Hey thats strange, its not the Arcana deck my brother told me about.".

Colins LP: 8000 Ananka's LP: 8000

"And as every true diviner knows, all cards have a positive upright and negative faced down effect. So too does the High Priestess. These Arcana monsters decide their power through fate, a built in coin toss." The hologram was slowly spinning around, Ananka waited for it to choose. Yet to her shock, the creature stared right at her. "Tails?" It had stopped in its reversed position. "I am no expert, but I assume this means the High Priestess gets a bad ability?" Colin gloated as he watched her monster fumble. "...Yes, that is true, from now on I lose 1000 lifepoints every time an Arcana Force monster dies, including herself." She was quite surprised, but showed no signs of distress. "Wait, there is a difference between the positions of cards?" Nero never heard that before. "Well some diviners think so, they see each side as a good or bad thing, like Yin and Yang. On the other hand, I see the upside as an extreme version of the cards prediction, not the opposite."

_Arcana Force II The High Priestess 4/1200/1200 Light/Fairy  
__When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
__Heads: Increase your LP by 1000 every time you summon an Arcana Force monster card.  
__Tails: Decrease your LP by 1000 every time an Arcana Force monster card (Including this card) is destroyed and sent to the graveyard_

She did nothing else that turn, so he took it that he could draw now. "I wonder if you even thought that far on your own, or if you simply chose to contradict whatever the other seers did." She asked. He ignored her and placed a trap card facedown, and then he normal summoned. "Blockman (1000/1500) !" It was a rock critter made from multi-colored building blocks. "Lego Blocks? Hey I loved those as a kid.." Carter smiled, and started to wonder whatever happened to them. "What kind of a fortune teller uses cards like that?" Ananka asked. "Hey its my specialty, you will see. Anyway, I am done, your move Ananka." He could not attack a stronger Priestess with it, leading the others to ponder why he would want to summon it.

"Fine, I normal summon the seventh major Arcana." She placed a monster face-up on the field, a strange mechanical entity with clawlike tentacles and even more eyes. "Force VII, the Chariot(1700/1700)" Once again it spun around. "If it gets heads, it will revive whatever it kills, as my servant. But if its tails, I have to give control of it to you immediately" This time luck was somewhat on her side. "Heads! That means your unusual monster is mine!" She entered her battle phase, with The Chariot swooping in first. "Whoops can't allow that." He flipped his counter trap, Negate Attack. "This cancels your attacks and ends your battle phase." A dimensional barrier appeared and stopped the Arcana in its tracks. "Well Blockman may have survived. But now, in my main phase 2, I can use this spell card: Divination of Fate! When an attack from an Arcana monster is negated, I can special summon a LV4 Arcana Force monster from my hand." She looked at the four cards in her hand and picked one. "I special summon the ninth force." A solemn-looking humanoid joined the fray. Arcana Force IX, the Hermit (1900/1900). However, it failed to please its master, as it ended up faced down again.

_Divination of Fate, Normal spell  
__You can only activate this card during a turn a Arcana Force monster card on your side of the field declared an attack, but did not inflict battle damage. Special summon one LV.4 or lower Arcana Force monster card from your hand._

_Arcana Force IX The Hermit 4/1900/1900 Light/Fairy  
__When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
__Heads: Once during your opponents turn, this card can not be destroyed as a result of battle.  
__Tails: This card is destroyed at the end of your next battlephase._

"You you foresaw my trap, eh? Too bad it didnt work out for you" He smiled. "Chance does not let itself be foreseen, unlike time. Its your turn." Colin nodded and drew. "The Blockman has a special effect too. I can sacrifice it during my turn to create a number of tokens equal to the number of turns it has been on the field. My turns that is." It had been on his side for two turns, so he could summon two tokens. The bigger lego monster separated into smaller pieces(1000/1500). "Then I tribute both for Greed Quasar!" He tribute summoned a more impressive fiend, a galactic devourer of stars (0/0) "But it has no offense." The others stated. "Not yet, this card gains 300 attackpoints for all level stars that are on it. Its a level 7 card, so it gains 7 X 300 attackpoints! (0/0 2100/0). Furthermore I use this spell, Double Attack. I can discard a card from my hand to let a monster with one level less, attack twice!" He discarded an 8-star card: Grinder Golem. "Now, Greed feasts on the bodies of the Chariot, and the High priestess!" The demons claws lashed out. They grabbed and swallowed the Chariot whole, absorbing its four stars for his own power (2100/0 3300/0).

Ananka's LP: 6600

Due to the effect of High Priestess, she lost 1000 lifepoints. She was the next to go, Quasar devoured her, and gained four more stars (3300/0 4500/0). Again Ananka lost 1000 LP to effect damage and 2100 to battle damage. "This must mean the future likes me more then you." He laughed, leaving his turn at this. "...Laugh while you can, Colin." She activated a spell card. "Reverse Reborn: this spell revives one Arcana Force monster in the cemetery. But it gains its tails-effect alone." She used it to resummon the High Priestess (1200/1200). "What are you up too, a tribute summon?" She just grinned in response. " I guess you can see a little of the future after all. Yes, yes I do Colin" She sent both to the grave to call out an 8-star monster. "The twentieth force, XX The Judgment (3000/3000)" A gigantic faceless being, covered in armor, overshadowed Colin and Greed Quasar. "Hey I am not affraid of that, its actually weaker. Eheh." he was stil sweating though.

Ananka's LP: 3500

_Reverse Reborn, Equip Spell  
__Select 1 monster that includes Arcana Force in its card name in your graveyard. Special summon the selected monster to your side of the field in attack position and equip it with this card. When this card is destroyed, destroy the equipped monster. The monster summoned by this effect has its "Tails" effect automatically applied._

_Arcana Force XX Judgment 8/3000/3000 Light/Fairy  
__Discard this card from your hand, to negate all effect damage done to you during this turn.  
__When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
__Heads: When this card is attacked, you can destroy the attacking monster and remove it from play. This effect can only be used once during the game.  
__Tails: During your standby phase you must remove one card on your field from play, or else this card is removed from play._

"Besides its stuck in negative." Judgment had stopped spinning and it looked away from Colin. "Its negative effect asks for a sacrifice every turn, or else..." Ananka seemed to stunned by her bad luck and ended her turn, after she placed a trap down. "iMust be her sacrifice.../i" The other seer drew and wasted no time. "But 8 stars are to tasty to pass up on. I declare an attack on Judgment!" Greed opened its maws in anticipation of a great feast. Yet suddenly simulated lightning came from a rift in the sky, and smothered the beast. "Wh-what the hell happened?" He shouted. "You didn't see it coming?" She revealed her trap. 'Reversal of Fate. It can reverse the position of the Arcana." The trap had caused XX to spin around and look back at her enemy. "His positive effect returns, and he smites the one that dares to attack him." Now the seer was left without defenses, he had nothing he could summon "Set trap card, end turn."

The others figured he was hoping to stall her with fear. But that did idea not prove helpful in the least. "I am sorry Colin. Battle phase..." She attacked directly. The anti diviner was knocked back by the brute force of The Judgment Arcana. "_Hmph, that hurts. Could I actually lose here?" _He paused to look back, and saw his own Tarot cards that he had accidentily tipped over. "_Ugh, no..I wont lose to her, not to her future_." He flipped his trap. "Dora of Fate!" A card so obscure, nobody knew what it did. "You look clueless, then let me elaborate, the foundation of my deck. Dora of Fate targets a monster, yours, and counts its stars, thats eight. Then if I normal summon a card with exactly 1 star less, I can deal damage to your lifepoints!" Now they knew why he was called, the master of Fate. He had built his entire deck around this one trap card. "But it depends on you drawing the right card, Colin, can you do it?" She ended her turn at this point, placing a monster facedown.

Colins LP: 5000

"Its me that can see the future, and I do not see.." He drew anyway. "You beating me, at anything!" He then normal summoned a machine-type monster:Fusilier, the Dual Mode beast (1400/1000). "Oh, thats...brilliant!" Fusilier was a 7-star monster card. "What? You could not.." But then she realized. "Yes I can, Fusiliers effect is that it can be normal summoned without tributes. In which case its attackpower is halved." But he did not care for that much, all he cared about was the effect damage Dora would cause. "No!" Ananka hissed, as she started losing lifepoints. "The damage is, 500 times the stars. Thats 4000 points, and you have less then that." By his one trap, she was beaten down. "This can not be. How can a false diviner win, why did destiny favor him, when he cant even predict destiny!?" "Well maybe I am not so fake after all." He saw no need to tell her that he had drawn Fusilier two turns ago, thus giving him more then enough time to make his prediction.

Ananka's LP: 0

"In any case, I won fair and square, so I demand you take your shop elsewhere." She was shocked, but complied, and walked back to her stand silently. "That was close, guess I owe that kid after all.." Sairve looked down at the field again, and started picking up his cards. "Oh wait, you two are still here? Forgot my audience there." Apparently they preferred to stay with him, and not her. "Heh, so..who else wants to know his future?" He asked with a wide grin. 'Ehr, no thanks..not so sure what to think right now." William found him a very unusual duelist. "But we do have some other questions." Nero spoke up "You would not happen to know about the third trial, would you?" Nero was still worried about that. "Third Trial? There is a third trial, thats news to me!" As a reaction to this, both their faces of interest deadpanned. If not even the future seers knew, who did?

(To be continued in Testament 008: The Third Trial)

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve  
**Blockman  
Greed Quasar  
Grinder Golem  
Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast

-  
Double Attack

-  
Negate Attack  
Dora of Fate

**New Cards used by Ananka de la Isla  
**_Arcana Force II The High Priestess  
_Arcana Force VII The Chariot  
_Arcana Force IX The Hermit  
Arcana Force XX Judgment_

_Divination of Fate (+)  
Reverse Reborn (+)_

-  
Reversal of Fate

(+) Both cards are based on spells used by Sartorius/Saiou in the GX anime


	8. Testament 008: The Third Trial

Testament 008: The Third Trial

It turned out that almost no one knew what exactly the third trial was, half of the people did not even know their numbers were going to be cut in half. So in effect Carter and Nero only managed to spread more chaos throughout the town. They did try to locate Ananka, the other fortune teller, but she was nowhere to be found after her loss against Colin. Sailve himself was truly as clueless as he said, if he had known there was a trial, he would not have wasted time on his shop. The sun started to set when they stopped walking "I no longer consider this trip productive." William noted, and they both did start to get tired. Of course, they were transported to england, going along with the sun, so this was a very very long day for them. "I guess so, maybe someone knows something at the hotel." Nero added. "Hmm, I only have on reason to go there now, snooze festing." Will yawned and they both headed back. "Alas, we will have to meet the others again too. I am sure Nikolai will have many things to say."

When they did get back, the hotel was a lot calmer then they had expected, and some were already asleep, despite the time. Still the place was entirely booked by duelists, and the staff had mixed reactions to their presence. "Wait, how do we know what rooms we have?" Nero wondered. "I assume that's what the pass cards are for." He took out both, which made him remember.. "Hm, I find it strange, no guard has come up to us yet, asking for our ID." He shrugged and looked at his red and blue card. "Ah, it says here B23, that must mean the B-floor and the 23rd room." Nero had the number E5. "Great, the top floor." He sighed. "I might as well check it out now." The building at least had an elevator, which took an awful long time to get down. Finally he found his room, and also...his room-mate. "You have got to be joking." It was Nikolai. "Hey, fancy meeting you here." His only escape from the pain that would soon come, was to try and stay friendly with Ned, even though he was also friends with William. ".. I saw this coming."

Nikolai immediately pulled out a laptop. "I figure we got paired together because of our country of origin, the same applies to Cleo and Venice, they share a room too. Its very 'considerate' of them." The thought of which was nearly hilarious, Nero could not picture the shy ms Gray with the gothly Caine. "Poor them." Ned coughed. "Anyway, I guess this is better then getting stuck with Carter. He probably has a room of his own, because his brother arranged better seats." Unfortunately this time Jacobus could not ignore the stabs made at Carter. "Wait, how do you even know if his brother has that much pull in the company?" It would be amazing for him to arrange this much from such a distance. "I don't, but its logical! Just don't get between me and him. I hope that when we get seeded I get to duel him." By now he realized, Zoro was a lot calmer then when he last saw him. He must have obtained some valuable information. "Wait.. seeded?" Zoro nodded. "Yes, didn't you know yet? Well I have my connections... There is no third trial, the lack of it...is the trial!" He spoke grimly.

"Doesn't that mean, that there Is a trial?" It sounded like a loop of a statement. "Not like that, there will not be a judged duel or exam. Instead the higher ups are using the rumors of a third trial to evaluate the influence it has on the 64 contestants. It is a psychological test. I found out through several secure connections that players that quit right now get a large sum of money, but forever lose a shot at the championship title." It still sounded confusing, everyone here was tested? "So... are they watching us right now?" He looked around the room, they could have installed camera's or something. "Don't bother, I scanned the walls and everything. There are no bugs, its just a toy company after all, not the CIA." Then the question would be, how they kept tabs on everyone's reactions to the trial. "So only half of us will get seeded, what does the other half get?" Ned smirked. "Free tickets to watch the seeded players, free hotel room for a whole week, free cable, free food. It sounds like a fair trade-off. But I will not let this break me, seeing Carter lose will not be enough.."

Meanwhile down below, Carter found his room, and saw that it was a very comfortable looking one-mans room. "_Great, this wont make me look any less suspicious in Ned's eyes. Ah well." _He threw his coat down and fell down on the bed. "_Time to go to sleep.. come on brain, shut down_." He tried the best he could, but he could not catch sleep. And the source of his problem was one floor below, someone was making a lot of noise. "Gah, not productive at all." He could not work with this, so he got up again and walked out of the room. As the door opened he saw several duelists getting to their room as well. "What the heck is so loud down there?" He asked one of them. "You mean the loud noises, oh that's just Dieter." He stared in bewilderment, that name said nothing to him. "Dieter..Dieter Carson..you don't know him? Aw man, how can that be..he is the richest gamer in town." Still he could not place the name. "Rich you say?"

"Yes, Dieter Carson is a millionaire gamer. They say he entered this tournament through sheer wealth, and he rented the hotels finest suite all for himself. I think he is throwing a party." Carter did not like the sound of that, but he knew it would be useless to try and make a rich gamer like him quit. But throwing a party for so many people so soon? Even though nobody issued the official sheet yet, Dieter was certain he had made the final cut, because of his money. "We can't touch him, he has money so he can screw the rules." Said a girl. "_I should have started sleeping the moment I got here. Hopefully, if Ned ever meets this Dieter fellow, he can shift his disgust towards him...I hope_." He gave up and went back to bed. "_Maybe I can make a call to Bill, ask him what is up with this entire tournament_." The noise down below continued for several more hours, only those on floor E were sound free.

Not all that dueled were aiming to sleep, one man in particular lacked the intention of rest. He just sat there behind his laptop, focusing on nothing else but the screen. "_Hmm, some children show promise, here. But there is only one whose talents I am certain off. And she is here_." He clicked through profile windows, skimming through all 63 other contestants. _"I know what you have. And I would very much like to take it from you." _The window showed the face of the infamous goth duelist, Cleo Caine

That night, Ned tried his best to not fall prey to the demon that was his own exhaustion, but even he could no resist its lure. So he fell to sleep right on top of his computer, still online and everything. The following morning however, he more then made up for his silence with the loudest wake-up call Nero had ever been witness too. "MY GOD ITS HERE, THE BRACKET IS HERE!" He shouted in excitement, which was not shared by a half waking Jacobus. "Its what?" He said, trying to stand up. "There is an official notice from Outerdeck, they have finally seeded everyone!"

"Oh, Oh!" He at last managed to muster enough focus to strength to look at the monitor. "At 5 AM this day, the company released an official statement regarding the rumors of the third trial and also submitted the pairings of the first round in the tournament. Only 32 contestants are in, because some others we're actors?" This was a bit unusual, Ned read the rest of the article. "It turns out that they were the third trial. The addition of so many fake duelists, was actually a consolation price for this country's gamers that ranked high on the lists, but did not manage to enter. This was done as a psychological test for the actual contestants, since there were actually more then 32, they used the fake duelists to intimidate and see whether or not the threat of a final trial would make some reconsider the money instead of the seeding. And this last trial went on, until only 32 were left. That's crazy!" He added as he had read it all. Crazy did seem like the right word for it. "In any case, the bracket is up? Let me see it!" It got very quiet in the room after that.

"Wait...I am your opponent?"

They all looked at the bracket, and this was the first thing they noticed. Somewhere down the line, Nicolai Zoro was placed against Nero Jacobus. This apparently was just coincidence, since Carter, Venice and Cleo were seeded far away from each other. They didn't know the people that those three were up against, but at this rate it would take a while for them to meet each other.

"What are the odds." Nero laughed nervously, he had no idea how Ned would react to this. "I daresay less then 0.001 . The same ship, same room, same match. Tsch, I'd rather have dueled against William." Zoro was of course disappointed, he wanted to show Carter the difference between his efficiency and his enemy's productive lifestyle. "There is still a shot for me to get at him though. If he and I win the first two rounds, we will meet up." He smirked. "That is, if you get passed me." Jacobus added, though he tried not to sound too confident. " I have nothing against you, but for the purpose of winning this tournament, and showing Will who is right, I shall crush you in our next duel." He figured this was the best reaction he could have wished for. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to discuss my battle strategies elsewhere." He stood up and left the room, with his laptop of course.

Carter had a loud awakening himself, or rather what came after his awakening was very loud. He was still partially sleeping, when he heard a knock on his door. _"Room service!" _Was his first thought, and he jolted out of the bed. "Coming!" He opened the door with glee, only to face someone who definitely did not work in this establishment. "Room-service! what do you take me for?" A man stood before him, that was hint number one, he did not carry a tray full of food with him, that was hint two. "I guess I should not expect room service when I don't even order any" He shook his head. "Do I know you?" Before him stood a black-haired kid, wearing a long green duster coat and other fancy clothes. You'd think someone that noticeable would be a familiar face. In fact they looked like rich men's clothes. "You should know me, everyone else does." He was obviously displeased with Carters behavior. "Ehr.." He still did not get who he was staring at. "You are William Carter yes? Well then, I am Dieter Carson, and I am your opponent." It took him two seconds to snap.

Then it hit him, he was that spoiled rich kid who threw those obnoxiously wild parties. "Oh!" He would have said something about that too, if he had not been caught off-guard by his bit of information. "Wait, what...we're opponents?" Carson just sighed. "Don't you know anything? The bracket has been put up hours ago, its online as well. I came here to meet up with my adversary, but now I find him to be grossly inappropriate." Will was not really sure if that was an insult or not, he was also unaware that it was already 1 PM. "Never the less, the match-up has been set, even I can not change it. I hope at the very least that you will be entertaining. I did not spend all this money just to duel against bums." He turned around and walked back to his suite down below. Carter watched him leave, and pondered the verbal comeback possibilities he could create. But he figured this guy had to much free time anyway. He yawned and went back to his bed, sleeping for another hour or two.

To be continued in Testament 009: One-trick Phony


	9. Testament 009: One Trick Phony

Testament 009: One-Trick Phony

Eventually all duelists were made up to date with their places in the tournament, including the ones that failed the imaginary third trial. These types of course had accepted the money bribe, exchanging their seat in the contest for a nice sum. Only 32 competitors, and the strangest of tools was used to broadcast the news to the town. It was a large zeppelin, and on the blimp was a window screen the size of a small house. "Looks like he is about to make it official." The crowd below stared up as the window switched on. "Wait, who?" Others asked. "Marcus Williams, the representative of Outerdeck. He is heading this event from his office a few miles to the east. The company has several establishments close by." In effect that made him the master of this entire area. His face now could be clearly seen by everyone below. The representative seemed nice enough, though oddly muscular and at the same time not really that intimidating.

"Greetings children and gamers, and of course also the inhabitants of this town. That I am here now, proves to you that the summer tournament has finally begun." He smiled. "The first round is tomorrow, you have until that time to change the deck you will use in this tournament from now on. You can also buy new cards at the local shops, only these cards can be used to improve the deck. But you all start with about 1000 credit points. You can of course gain more points by winning more duels, or keep the credits for a consolation price. But keep in mind, only the champion gets the ultimate award, far grander then anything you could imagine." His speech already riled up the eager and the greedy.

"I can see that you are all enthusiastic. But some of you might be wondering, Why did my company put you through such ghoulish tasks." And then silence fell once more. "That is because we wanted to test the three things which we believe are essential to a duelist, a true duelist. The first test was simply skill, if you could bypass the judges under their conditions, then you can get far here. The second trial, was knowledge, only those that are aware of all current dueling events, rulings, trivia and errata can be accepted here. Not just any kid can enter through lucksacking or netdecking alone. Finally, this last trial, here we used in-land actors to make the situation seem more drastic then it really was. This was only to see whether you had determination and integrity. We do not want to give the title of "Dueling King" to a person who only fights for money or attention." The crowd had grown completely calm "So there you have it, skill, knowledge and integrity. Only the select few make it this far, I look forward to meeting you in the finals. Til then.." The screen turned off, the blimp flew away, everyone was left in awe.

Well almost everyone. "Someone sure did waste a whole lot of money for a blimp and a big TV, just for a card game tournament." No, Cleo still did not get it. She was ready to give up though, shifting from disbelief to simply not caring how insane everything was_. "Integrity, knowledge, or a card game? Then how the hell did I get in here?" _Regardless of what she felt, she still went to the arena when the time had come for everyone to start fighting. They were all supposed to gather in front of the main collosseum. Everything would be sorted out there.

"Well looks like this is how it works. The bracket is divided into four divisions, thats what the four stadiums are for. The first three rounds of the tournament will be battled out in there." Carter explained to Nero, as the duo were looking for their stage's. "Cleo and Venice are at stage B, we are at stage D" That was up north. "There will be one duel every hour, so there is a time limit apparently, in any case I have about three hours before my duel begins." Dieter was nowhere to be found though, he must have thought he could come late because of the schedule. "Yeah but my duel with Ned is in one hour already. And he is already there, waiting for me to show up. If I beat him, should I feel bad?" He asked, half jokingly. "Nah, you will be a far more amusing opponent, that is if I can get passed that guy who has money." Will shrugged. "In any case, the first duel of the tournament is about to begin, in stage A. We have enough time to watch that, shall we go there?" He asked Nero, who agreed.

Each stage was packed full with people, it was hard for non-audience members to find a place where they could simply watch. Nero and William did manage to find a nice place to watch the duel from. "Who is he facing again?" Carter asked. "I think her name was Lydia. She uses harpies from the looks of things." And the one that started the whole tournament, the guy at the top off the bracket, was none other then Colin Sairve. The future had been impatient he thought. "Well we missed the first few turns. But no life has been deducted yet. " The girl had one Harpie Lady 2 (1300/1400) on her field, while Sailve had Blockman (1000/1500), and two trap cards. "This setting looks so familiar to me, oh right I remember now." The girl, clad in leather, was not to thrilled to duel this guy.

Lydia's LP: 8000 Colins LP: 8000

"This trick is old, fortune man." She discarded a card from her hand as soon as her turn began. "I discard Harpie Queen. When I do this, I can add the field spell: Harpie's Hunting ground to my hand." She smiled. "That, I of course play." She placed the field which gave all winged beasts 200 attack end defense points. "Now every time I summon a Harpie, I can destroy one spell or trap card on the field." So she summoned Harpie Lady 1 (1500/1600) to demonstrate this power. "_Did not see that coming_." His left facedown trap card: Negate attack shattered due to a gust of wind. "_I need a better opening move." _The Harpie had a special ability herself, she strengthened all other Harpies by 300 points, defense and offense (1800/1600). "Now that your trap can not save you anymore, I declare a double attack." Both harpies lashed out with their talons, cleaving through the Lego monster and directly across Colins chest. "Hmph, it must be some kind of rule that all women with harpies act like harpies."

Colins LP: 5400

He dusted off his robes, and entered his turn. "But if you have seen that before, then he great duelist of fate will have to dazzle you with a new performance. Behold, the trap card you did not strike!" He flipped Level Conversion Lab. "When activated, I can change the level of a monster card to whatever the die results in!" He of course had dice with him as well, every performer needed one. "The card is this one." He revealed Greed Quasar, and threw the dice. They landed on a four, the most common result. "Yes, now I can summon it, here is Greed(1200/1200)!" The demon appeared, though its level was cut down by three stars, so its attack was lower as well. "That things is hideous." Blackstone commented, not daring to look directly at it. "I can handle cards, but holograms, ick." Colin just shrugged. "You wont gain any sympathy from me. Greed Quasar right now cant kill anything, but... " He played a spell card. "Star Storm!" Suddenly, the level stars on all three monster cards lighted up like pyreflies. Twelve of them, which all flew into the air. "Now what?" Lydia hissed, and then she saw the stars heading her way. "This spell does damage for every star on the field, Greeds four and your Harpies eight, they will all make for a nice display." The stars struck her quickly and then they retreated back into the cards.

Lydia's LP: 6800

_Starstorm, Normal Spell  
__Inflict damage to your opponent's life points equal to the combined level of all faceup monsters on the field x 100._

"Too bad its a one-time only display, but now your turn is up." At the endphase, the effect of Level Conversion Lab ended, so his monster then returned to his normal level. It became stronger then any of her Harpies (2100/2100), so he wondered if the future was going to be nice to him. "_Of course not_.." She drew and immediately summoned Harpie's Baby Pet Dragon (1200/600). "Ah the backbone of all harpie decks, a dragon." It never made much sense to Will, but he did know about the dragons effects. Colin was screwed now. "When the Pet Dragon is on the field, it gets a number of abilities. If one harpie lady is on the field it will guard all ladies in battle. Also, his stats gets doubled if two of them stand by his side, plus it gains 300 attackpoints from Lady 1." Lady 1 and 2 cackled and the baby grew up into a tall hulking beast (2700/1200) "Nice one.." Colin thanked fate, as he received a triple punishment. Greed Quasar never stood a chance, a gust of flames ended him.

Colins LP: 4800

Then two winged slashed brought him down by 3600 points. "It seems you can handle all my tricks quite well, young lady." He coughed, this time he really needed lucks kindness to get in an edge. "But Colin predicts that his best card will come to his hand, right now!" His turn came and he drew. Alas he did not get his best card, however... "Bah. I set a monster facedown, and end my turn."

Colins LP: 1200

Colin regained his smug expression, yet Lydia was not concerned either. "Resorting to bluffs, That won't work on me, fortune boy. Especially if I draw a third harpie lady" But she too failed to get what she desired, so the Pet Dragons third ability would not win the duel for her yet. "Elegant Egotist!" Instead she sacrificed Harpie Lady 2 and transformed her into the Harpie Lady Sisters, empowered by both the field and Lady 1 (2450/2300) "Say your prayers." The four females flew into the air, and he let them hit his facedown card. "Heh." Which for some reason, bounced their claws right back. And the only one that lost life... was her."Huh?" It was the shapeless mass, Marshmallon (300/500), which could not be destroyed in battle. Also when it was flipped, it would take down 1000 of her lifepoints

Lydia's LP: 5800

"Now you're just stalling the audience, how sad." Neither the Dragon or Lady 1 could damage the soft bodied critter, so he ended her turn, biding her time. "Okay, okay. That was not so spectacular, but this will blow your mind!" He finally drew the card which his entire style depended on, Dora of Fate. "I place a trap card facedown." He snickered. "That must be Dora of Fate...does he use that thing all the time?" Nero asked himself. This fortune teller seemed to base his entire show on one final trick. "Now I can summon..Lava Golem!" He did not want to use it the last turn, but this time, the field was ripe. "What the golem? He will tribute two of my monsters to summon it?" He sacrificed the sisters and the dragon for the golem of Magma (3000/2500), and it was called to her field. A virtual cage surrounded her, she was trapped by the Lava Golem. "I cant summon in the turn I give a Lava Golem to the enemy, so this is it for me." Sairve laughed. "Tsch, my turn." Of course, what with her now being trapped in a cage underneath a melting devil, she would lose 1000 lifepoints every turn, and with Marshmallon in the way, she could not touch the enemy either.

Lydia's LP: 4800

"Ah I get it, if he cant get find a high enough level monster for Dora of Fate to work on. He will just give the opponent one himself." Carter was again impressed by Colins tactics. Lava Golem was level eight too, she would take 4000 damage if he summoned Fusilier next turn. "Enough of your games." She drew and summoned Harpie Lady 3 (1800/1600) to the field, and reactivated the hunting ground to destroy his facedown. "Next I play this spell card: Harpie Lady - Phoenix Formation! I can destroy a monster on my opponents field. Then you suffer damage equal to the destroyed monsters attack!" The two ladies created a fiery tempest, which reduced the Marshmallon to a puddle of goo, costing Colin 300 lifepoints. "Unfortunately I can not attack the turn I use this effect, so I stop here." But one thing was overlooked. "Wait... trap card, Dora of Fate?" Lydia flinched. "I destroyed that!" She protested at the image of the trap before her. "Yes, but I chained at the last second. You were just so caught up with your own moves to notice that." She should have expected that. "Chains are a bitch, arent they?"

_Harpy Lady - Phoenix Formation  
__Activate only if you control two or more 'Harpie Lady' cards. Destroy one monster card on the opponents side of the field. Inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK of the monster destroyed this way. You cannot conduct your battle phase this turn._

Colins LP: 900

Nothing she could do now would stop it. "Ugh, they were right when they said you have a one-track mind. Don't you find it strange that for a future seer, your own future is very predictable?" She rasped, knowing that her defeat was closing in. "Sorry, the master of fate goes with what works." Dora of Fate affected the 8-star Lava Golem. "Besides, my title would lose its purpose if I changed my strategy." Then he of course normal summoned the 7-star Fusilier Dragon, without tributes (1400/2000), inflicting (500 x 8 ) 4000 damage to her lifepoints. "Gah, why me." She sighed. Colin did not even have to do anything else, the girl only had 500 lifepoints left, and Lava Golem would melt it down in her next standby phase. "Okay fine, I give up, you win! Just get me out of here already." She cursed. The judge accepted her withdrawal and signalled the end of the match. The holograms faded. "You know you could have just walked out of there, its still only a simulation."

Lydia's LP: 0

To be continued in Testament 010: Eye of the Beholder

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve  
**Marshmallon  
Lava Golem

-  
Star Storm

-  
Level Conversion Lab

**New Cards used by Lydia Blackstone  
**Harpie Lady 1  
Harpie Queen  
Harpie Lady 2  
Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon  
Harpie Lady Sisters  
Harpie Lady 3

-  
Harpies' Hunting Ground  
Elegant Egotist  
Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation ()

_ The same card used by Mai in the YGO Doma arc, except toned down a bit because the anime version is quite broken._


	10. Testament 010: Eye of the Beholder

Testament 010: Eye of the Beholder

As Colin he walked off of the field, making room for the next two duelists to enter, he noticed the two happy customers he served a few days ago. "Hello Colin." Will clapped and Nero did the greeting. "Oh its you two again. Dont you have your own matches, or did you not make the cut?" They just laughed. "Once again, shouldn't you have known that before it happened? I mean you did predict fortune in my future." He responded. "True, I did draw the Wheel of Fortune card. But like I said already, whatever I foresee, never happens. So you have to be doomed to failure..I stand by my perfect reverse readings. And if you stay here any longer, you will miss your own duel." Now it was his turn to laugh. "Oh right, well wish a doomed fellow good luck." Nero ran off to his stage.

At the same time others were busy conducting their own matches in stadiums A, B and C. Venice did not start her match yet, and was as nervous as ever. Especially when she saw the caliber of duelists this tournament had. Even if she passed this round she would have to gup against the ones she saw winning with ease moments before. At the same time, Ananka the rival fortune teller, had a slight bit more luck then before, and barely won. However Cleo, who was also in Ananka's dvision, was still as bored as ever. She was only interested in her own matches and only payed half of her attention to the duels that proceeded in front of her. Though at least holograms fighting it out, were slightly less yawn-invoking then watching flat cards on a table fighting it out. Compared to Ananka's match, the next two duel was rather short. Some guy named Bastion Hera made quick work of his opponent, Cleo was thankful for his speed.

"Ghh, finally, now its my turn." She slowly stood up. The anouncer introduced both her and her opponent unto the stage. The crowd did not completely refrain from making several lewd and/or loud comments, concerning Caine's appearance. Like usual she ignored them and walked up to the platform. Across the field stood her enemy, an average-looking boy, wearing a common college uniform, he was known as Alan Philips. "Eheh, hello miss Caine." He said softly. She just stared at him, thinking that this must have been what resembled a normal card game enthusiast. "I heard much about you, I wish you the best of luck." He seemed pretty shy around, but she was not in the mood to return his modesty. "Sure, whatever, lets just play."

Alans LP: 8000 Cleo's LP: 8000

This game would not be exciting, she knew that already. The only people she wanted to duel, were the cocky slimy type, those that pretended to be superior just because they could win in a childrens card game. "O-okay. Ladies first." This guy was one of those politically-correct raised types, it would not be fun to grind into him. Cleo also already knew she would be the victor on this day, she always won. "If thats your pleasure." She shrugged and drew six cards, the game was on. And of all things, she started the duel with a card only she still kept in rotation. "I normal summon, the Shadow who controls the Dark (800/700)." It took a whole minute before anyone believed what they saw, and another two minutes for Alan to start his own turn. _"Eheheh, if she is to be my target, she sure would need to polish on her skills."_ And there he was as well, her mysterious online-enabled stalker.

He sat in the shadows of the stadiumring, close enough to pervade the two duelists, bat far enough to not draw attention to himself. His coat stood out while there were no shadows to obscure it. It had two buttons on it; one said LOVE and was upside down, the other was the insane version of a smiley face. "_Cleo Caine. Nobody else could have reached this place, whilst maintaining such a crude revulsion for the dynamics of this entire event._" This man was not a duelist at all, he appeared to be far too old for that kind of fun. Instead he was apparently a simple ticketholder, who also reserved a seat in the hotel. "_But my hypothesis still needs to be solidified. So for Cleo to deserve my efforts, she at least needs to make it passed this kid, and then finally...we can play a game within my own boundaries and rules... _" He chuckled softly, and coughed afterwards. "_You better make me proud, girl. Time is of the essence_"

The duel went pretty much as she expected, throughout the game she dominated with her vanilla-flavor cards alone. Vanilla, the color of the effectless monsters. Philips ran a Dark World deck, but it did not help him in the slightest. Every one of his draws contained nothing that could dent her, he had an awful case of even awfuller luck. "I activate the Shallow Grave." That spell allowed her and Alan to set a monster from their graveyard to the field in facedown defense position. She set a Metal Guardian (1150/2150), while he placed the Goldd the Wu-Lord facedown (2300/1400). "Then I normal summon this card." She called Gil Garth (1800/1600) the armored demon, who was probably her strongest vanilla card, but still a vanilla card. "And attack your facedown." Gil Garth took its saber and cut the golden warlord into ribbons. "Ow, I don't get why I can not get a good card." The kid moaned. "...Its just bad luck, deal with it." She ended her turn.

Alans LP: 2900 Cleo's LP: 5700

She left her field with only those two effectless monsters, and no traps or spells. "Well its my turn now, and I.." He activated the spell Dark Dealings. "Both players draw a card from their deck and discard a card from their hand." He drew and discarded Kakkhi, Guerilla of Dark World (300/500) "When I discard Kakkhi I can destroy one monster on your side of the field." He picked the Metallic Guardian. "Well I am not sure about this, but.." However she discarded a card from her hand, that was even more imposing then the one he destroyed. "Despair from the Dark (2800/3000). Guess it worked after all." Despair was a demon monster that could be special summoned when it was discarded from her hand, but until now she never got to use it in such a way. "No way!" He gasped. All he could manage now was placing one monster in facedown defense mode, and ending his turn. _"She had just the right card in her hand, when she needed it?" _

"Lord of Zemia" She normal summoned a dragonlike fiend (1300/1000). "Despair attacks your facedown." Evidently, he had hoped to stall her with his facedown monster card, Renge, Iron guard of Dark World (100/2100). That defensive shield of his was a bit much for normal monsters, but with Despair on the field his plan was swiftly silenced. "Direct attack." He received two direct attacks from Gil Garth and Zemia, and lost all of his lifepoints. The audience was paralyzed with amazement and shock. "Ehr..the winner is...Cleo Caine!" Even the judge looked mortified, why did she join this prestiguous event, how? "Well, you won, shucks." Alan was the least stunned of them all. "...Its just a game." She turned away and left the stage before the judge could even finish his declaration.

Alans LP: 0

She received no joy from this match-up. Only the knowledge that she was one step closer to obtaining all that money was fueling a flame of happiness within her. That was also her reason for denying the buy-off before there were only 32 contestants left, with her track record, she knew she could get more. "_Four duels to go, I guess those will be as easy as this one_." She left the sights of the bustling crowd, everyone talked about her unusual victory. Only the stalker stayed quiet, and he smirked. "_Nice, Cleo, nice_" Then he faded into the darkness, never spotted by others.

At the same time, Nero reached his own destination. Ned was already waiting for him at Stadium D, the previous match had just ended. "Oh I am on time. Whew." He could finally relax...for a few seconds. "I suppose we'd better get started." Nero said to his former roommate, and now his opponent. "Alas that is true. As I said before, I have no qualms with you, but to get to Carter, I must win here." Ned activated his dueldisk. "That is, if he gets passed his first and second round." The hero duelist smirked and followed Neds lead. "The duel commences!" Shouted the judge. "Now then, who decides who goes first?" The man asked. "Nero Jacobus can start us off, I dont mind myself." Ned replied, Nero accepted this offer. So he just drew five cards, while the other drew six. "_Hrm, I do not know what specific deck he uses, but machines were in it the last time. But then who knows how many changes it went through since his tests_."

Nero's LP: 8000 Neds LP: 8000

He played safe for now, and placed a monster in facedown defense mode, he also placed a trap card down. "Good, good. You covered yourself well. However my offense shall still be at full potential." He drew, and summoned a trainlike machine, but it looked more cartoonish then most monster cards. "Steamroid (1800/1800)? You use a roid deck, Ned, or is this just some part of your strategy?" Zoro smiled in response. "The former, while I pride myself in my skills, I dislike dueling without a theme. There is a difference between true effort and a simple deck from the net." Steamroid started unleashing some steam. "Now then let me see your deck as well, Jacobus!" The train droid raced straight over his facedown monster card, E-hero Clayman 800/2000). "Thats a nice defense, but Steamroids special effect allows it to gain 500 attackpoints during its charge (2300/1800)." The Train crushed the earth Hero. "And its a hero deck eh? Thats also interesting."

"Yes, as long as people dont quip about my name and my theme, I am fine with it." He then flipped his trap card. "You triggered this by the way, Hero Signal." Ned knew what that card did. "When a hero is destroyed another is summoned from the deck. I special summon E-hero Avian." Yet he did not quite understand, why he would waste it on him, as he was quite weak (1000/1000) "You're sure about that?" Jacobus just nodded. "Who am I to say no, then. You use cards that you like, so do I. Before you can go, I will ready myself." It was placed facedown in the MT-zone. "There, your move." Nero was unsure if he should ignore his trap, or attack with full force. "_Maybe I should send someone to step into it first_." He summoned E-hero Sparkman (1600/1400) from his hand, but nothing happened. "Or this." He also placed two trap cards, but still nothing chained to him. "Then, I will have to attack!" Sparkman and Avian flew into the air, targeting the locomotive Roid.

"Ah your know the roids well. Steamroid has the downside of losing 500 attackpoints if the enemy charges him instead(1300/1800) Unfortunately." But at the last second he flipped his facedown trap card. "I have to deny your attacks, I play No Entry!!" The Forbidding Entrance trap card switched all attack-mode monsters positions. Both Roids and Elementals were forcibly shifted into defense. Nero was surprised, this was also bad for him. "_Since I summoned Sparkman this turn, I can not not switch him back to attack mode_. Did not expect an ambush like that, nice move. I guess this ends my turn." Ned understood. "Well now. So far you have not failed my expectations. Anyway this trap card; No-Entry, it goes well with another Roid..a Drillroid!" This time he summoned a cartoonish drilling machine (1600/1600). " Its effect is to crush any defending monster, regardless of its defense points." Not that Sparkman or Avian could stand up to 1600 attackpoints if he had not known this effect. "But I see that you, in return, have two traps waiting for me.

"I know what kind of traps an E-hero deck uses, so I can attack without getting to big a shock. Here I come!" Drillroid struck Sparkman and Steamroid attacked once more, grinding the Featherman into a fine powder. "In that case I will activate one of my Heroic trap cards, Ned." He flipped the card, Elemental Mirage. "Ah, that card. The elemental version of Destiny Mirage." This trap allowed Nero to revive any E-heroes that were destroyed this turn, so he could resummon both Feather and Sparkman. "You're certainly skilled, Nero, I havent even managed to scratch you yet. Its a pity that I have to beat you first, William wont put up half as good a fight." He drew. "Its sad knowing that you can beat a trial of integrity and knowledge through lazyness. I wonder how he passed the first trial... not with flying colors like me, heh." Of course that question brought up the memory of Nero not passing the first trial legitimately. "He must have cheated..called in the favor of his friend. Oh well, no sense talking to you about it. Eh Nero?"

_Elemental Mirage, Normal Trap  
__Activate only when an Elemental Hero monster you control is destroyed and sent to the graveyard as a result of battle. Special summon to your side of the field all Elemental Hero monsters that were destroyed as a result of battle this turn._

To be continued in Testament 011: I am Error

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine  
**That Shadow who Controls the Dark  
Metal Guardian  
Gil Garth  
Despair of Darkness

**Cards used by Alan Philips  
**Goldd, Wu-lord of Dark World  
Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World  
Renge, Gatekeeper of Dark World

-  
Dark World Dealings

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus  
**Elemental Hero Clayman

-  
Hero Signal  
Elemental Mirage

**Cards used by Ned Zoro  
**Steamroid  
Drillroid

-  
No Entry!!


	11. Testament 011: I am Error

Testament 011: I am Error

Jacobus did not reply of course, it did not feel right. Now it was his turn, and he decided that it would get serious from here on in, mostly because he drew the final piece of a fusion he was aiming to complete. "Ned, here is the true power of an E-hero deck, Polymerization!" He sent the two E-heroes on his field, and E-hero Bubbleman in his hand, to the grav. Water, air and thunder combined into a mighty warrior. "E-hero Tempest (2800/2800), the master of storms." The crowd was impressed that he had managed to summon something out of so many pieces. "I attack Steamroid!" Once more the locomotive roid lost 500 points (1300/1800) "Nice Nero, but you helped me as well!" Just before his card was killed, he chained. "Trap card, Power Charger. This trap allows me to draw twice if a roid is attacked. Its a small cost." Finally Steamroid was destroyed, and Ned was the first of the two to obtain damage. ".. to pay for new options." He drew two cards.

Neds LP: 6500

"But you damaged me..good work." Jacobus was still silent. He then activated his monsters effect. "Tempest will now send my second facedown trap card to the grave. When it does this, it can choose a monster and make it immune to battle destruction." The fusion hero chose itself, now it could not be killed in battle. "Furthermore, the card I sent to the graveyard was this; normal trap card Dummy Marker. When its sent away, I can remove it to draw one new card." He did so. "Yes, very nice." His turn was truly over now. "But now I will show you the card that crushed the judge I faced." He smirked and summoned an Expressroid to the field (400/1600) "What does that do?" He was not familiar with every Roid-card, like this more modern train machine. "It allows me to add up to two Roids from my grave to my hand." He only had one, Steamroid, which he reclaimed. "But thats not where I stop my turn. No, watch this Jacobus." He showed two more Roids in his hand, a Truckroid and the bomber Stealthroid. "This vanquished the judge, will vanquish you and soon Carter... fusion."

_Dummy Marker, Normal Trap  
__When this set card is sent to the graveyard by a card effect controlled by you or your opponent. Remove it from play to draw 1 card from your deck._

He played a spell: Vehicroid Connection Zone. "I fuse these two, with Drillroid and Expressroid on my field, through this special fusion card!" The audience gasped, this fusion was even more convoluted. The drill, train, stealth jet and truck formed one large robot, like the ones you saw on TV shows. "This is the Vehicroid Stealth Union(3600/3000)!" Its power exceeded Nero's mightiest Elemental fusion. "Now normally this card loses half of its attack when it does battle. But this spell will solve that flaw." He activated a quickplay, Limiter Removal. "Now the Vehicroids power is doubled (7200/3000), so when it strikes it will still be superior to your cards. No time to waste!" The amalgam of vehicles charged (3600/3000), plowing it into Tempester with its drill. "Hold that thougt, Ned! I already saved Tempest with its effect." His monster could not be killed in battle, but he would still lose lifepoints. "Let me warn you then Nero." He ended his battle phase. "It wont make one bit of difference to switch him to defense mode, Stealth Union inflicts Piercing damage." That meant even a defending Tempest would transfer 800 damage to his user.

Nero's LP: 7200

"Then again Tempest has equal stats, so you might as well." Ned shrugged. Then his endphase came. "Also, before anyone asks, a monster fused with the Connection Zone can not be destroyed by card effects. While Limiter Removal normally destroys the monster (7200/3000) it affects in the endphase, this flaw is now also nullified." His turn ended, and the union machine remained. "Dont get to panicky though, its far from invincible..." Nero wondered why he said that, he must have been putting on a more nervous appearance then he thought. "Its not the monster.." He answered, and already he had his regrets. "Then what is making you..." Because now Ned was getting curious and Jacobus could not say that he did Not defeat his judge. The guilt of his mysterious gift was eating at him ever since he met Nikolai. "Its something personal." Yet he could not lie about it either. "You're...hiding something?" And Ned was far to inquisitive to ignore this silence. "You will not...does this have anything to do with the tournament?" That vein in his head showed up again.

"Look Ned, I just can not tell you, I am not proud of it myself. Lets just continue the duel" He spoke softly enough to net let the entire stage hear him. "I switch Tempest to defense mode and place one spell facedown" His turn was over "If thats your attitude, if you can not tell me.." The look on his face showed that he already suspected something. "I will have get the answer through a soundless victory!" He summoned a non-machine monster, a Sangan(1000/600). "I thank you though for trusting defence. I play Shield Crush!" This spell destroyed any random monster in defense mode, and it shot straight through the triple element E-Hero. "Gah I have no choice. De-fusion!" However, at the last second, he used his facedown quickplay spell card. "That wont work against...oh wait." Ned wanted to say that his Vehicroid could not be defused, but he already realized this was never Nero's aim. "I unfuse the Tempester." His warrior split into Bubbleman (800/1600), Avian (1000/1000) in defense mode, and Sparkman in attack mode (1600/1400)

"Tch, you saved your fusion from my spell. However I can disappoint you as well. For you see, Stealth Union has a second power! When it is united with a non-machine monster card, it can target all monster cards on the field for battle!" He united the Vehicroid with the Sangan Crittr. "Vehicroid Critter Union, it will stomp any enemy!" Stealth Unions attack halved again, and it unleashed its fieldwide onslaught. Bombing Featherman for 2600 damage, drilling into Sparkman with its knee for 2000 damage, and stomping Bubbleman for 2000 damage. "_Ugh, barely survived that one.." _Nero cringed. "Hmph, keeping up the silent act? If it involves the tournament you may as well say it now, since you can not destroy Stealth Union. You can not win" He finished his turn and his roid was back at full power (7200/3000) "I will tell you, but only after the duel is over, Nikolai. Because only then can I be sure of my own answer." He thought that if he could at least beat Ned, he deserved to be in the tournament. "_But how to beat this thing? Brute force surely wont work_." He drew his next card and he was preasantly surprised.

Nero's LP: 600

"Nicolai, you are right, this machine is not invincible. I think I found a hole in its armor." Zoro frowned but did not respond. "Here I will show you, I summon... Neo-spacian Grand Mole!" He called out, not an Elemental, but a Neos card. "What.." It was a tiny mole with drills on its shoulders (900/300) "This card is kinda like your Drillroid. Except it returns cards to the hand, not the grave, during its attacks" It dug into the floor. "No!" That was the one opening in the defenses of Connection Zone fusion summon, it shielded against destruction, but not against the other forms of field removal. "Damn it!" Grand Mole struck, and pushed Stealth Union. "Tsch, fusion monsters cant be in my hand." Union went back to his fusion deck instead. "However the Sangan equiped to Union was sent to the grave, his effect goes off. I can add a monster with less then 1500 attackpoints to my hand." At the same time the mole returned to Nero's hand, his field was wide open.

"Not done yet, I activate the spell card, Damage-Off Zone" It was a card Ned did not know. But he was still enfuriated, so he did not even bother to read what it did. "The card I got through Sangan, I will summon it now: Submarineroid (800/1800)" This time it was a sub-type machine "I commend you for overpowering my Super Vehicroid, but in the end all it takes to crush you is this thing. Direct attack!" The sub charged and hit Nero with a cartoonish torpedo, which exploded in his face. "I got you!" The smoke covered the duel platform, and coughing came from his side, he would have lost. "You're sure?" Except his spell prevented it. "H.how?" His lifepoints stood at 200, instead of nothing. "The damage was halved? I see.." It was his continuous spell, it halved battle damage once per turn, turning 800 into 400 points. "The name should have tipped me off, what a pain." Zoro did not have any spell destroyers handy. "Just don't hope that this will aid you, another torpedo will end this duel. Submarineroid has the ability of direct attack. Even if you defend, it will be able to hit you."

Nero's LP: 200

_Damage-Off Zone, Continuous Spell  
__As long as this card is face-up on the field, all battle damage inflicted to the controller of this card is halved. You can send this card to the graveyard, and pay half your lifepoints to make the damage inflicted to your life points by 1 of your opponent's monsters 0. You can only use this effect during your opponent's battle phase._

Even worse, its second effect switched it to defense mode after attacking. "_1800 defense points is not easy to bypass, using Grand Mole will only delay the inevitable." _He looked at a spell in his hand. "Defending? I did not say anything about that." He activated it. "Fusion Recovery: I add a Polymerization card and a monster used for a fusion summon back to my hand." He reclaimed the thunderpart of Tempest. "Sparkman is back in my hand, and now I reactivate Polymerization!" He fused two cards, Sparkman and E-Hero Bladedge. "Come out E-Hero Plasma Vice (2600/2300). I immediately use its effect; by discarding one card from my hand I can destroy your defending machine." He discarded the Neo-spacian and allowed the golden hero to electrocute Submarineroid. "Now, direct attack!" And then he slashed Zoro vertically. "Well look at that, that kid finally dented Zoro's massive lead." The audience became excited with this twist. "Now its your turn, Ned."

Neds LP: 3900

The opponent just growled and he summoned a second Expressroid (400/1600) "You know what this does, I add Submarineroid and Drillroid back to my hand." He also placed a trap card facedown, and ended his turn_. "After all that, he has his direct attacker back in his hand?" _Nero was fortunate enough that he could not normal summon it this turn. He drew, only one card was in his hand at this point. "_I better kill that one with a normal attack and save this card_." He placed the trap down and attacked. "Plasma Vice destroys Expressroid." Nicolai lost a lof of life because of this, making his lead looking even less impressive. "You are good Nero...But not good enough! I could just summon Submarineroid, however I will not make this victory a lazy one. I wont do what William would do."

Neds LP: 1700

"Instead I play this, another Vehicroid Connection Zone. This time I combine all three roids in my hand." He fused Drillroid, Submarineroid and the Steamroid he added back to his hand several turns earlier, and formed. "Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill (3000/2000)" Before Jacobus now stood a smiling vehicle with a drill that looked big enough to break through the chinese wall. "Even if you can halve all damage done to you, this strike will still devour all of your lifepoints. And then you will have to answer me!" Jumbo Drill grinned wickedly and ran straight over the Plasma Hero. "Trap card: Hero Barrier!" He tried to block the attack. "To naive, I prepared for that!" Except Ned countered with a trap. "Counter Trap: Malfunction. I pay 500 LP to negate that Barrier and seal it facedown again." Nero's trick had failed. "Die, Plasma Viceman!" And his hero was torn asunder. Yet then once more, Nero activated Damage-Off Zone. "What?" And he only lost 100 LP, not the 400 he should have lost. "Damage-Off Zone's second effect: I can negate all damage done to me, by sending this card to the grave and pay half my lifepoints. I may have lost the monster card, but I live for one more round." Jumbo Drill drove back to its master, a twitching frustrated master.

Neds LP: 1200 Nero's LP: 100

"Its still pointless, your Elemental fusion is no match for my machine fusion." No Grand mole would save him this time, they were both so close to their downfalls, they could feel it. "I know, Nicolai. It seems your power is greater." He drew, and closed his eyes. "_The only thing I have going for me is my fusions apparently_." He looked back at the enemy. "Now I think I can answer you. I myself doubted if I should belong here, because I...failed." Zoro did not immediately know what he was talking about. "But..I can not go back anymore, so I shall go forth! Activate the spell card, Miracle Fusion! This allows me to fuse monsters in the graveyard: Bubbleman and Avian, to fusion summon the Elemental Hero Mariner" An aquatic warrior with an anchor came from a watery grave(1400/1000). "This warrior can attack directly if I have a set card on the field." His Hero Barrier was still in his trap zone. "If I can not go through your machines, I shall go over them, and through you instead!" The Sailor hero leaped into the air over the Jumbo Drill, and hurled his anchor straight at the enemy. "Nooo!!" This hit dropped the enemy to zero. "The winner is, Nero Jacobus!" The judge was quick with his decision, the crowd was estatic.

Neds LP: 0

To be continued in Testament 012: Get Rich, or Die Trying

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus  
**Elemental Hero Bubbleman  
Elemental Hero Tempest  
Neo-Spacian Grand Mole  
Elemental Hero Mariner

-  
De-Fusion  
Damage-Off Zone (+)  
Fusion Recovery

-  
Dummy Marker (+)

_+ Both were anime-cards used by Judai in YGO GX (Episodes 85 and 130 respectively)_

**New Cards used by Ned Zoro  
**Expressroid  
Truckroid  
Stealthroid  
Super Vehicroid Stealth Union  
Sangan  
Submarineroid  
Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill

-  
Vehicroid Connection Zone  
Limiter Removal  
Shield Crush

-  
Power Charger  
Malfunction


	12. Testament 012: Get Rich or Die trying

Testament 18: Get Rich or Die trying

The crowd had not seen an E-hero deck win anything for some time, so there were mixed reactions of surprise and joy. Thanks to all the shouting, nobody heard what the two duelists were talking about. "So you lost to your judge, then how...did you get in?" Ned was substantially calmer now, after Nero had given him the full story. . "I do not know myself, believe me, I only entered because I felt a second chance should never be discarded. And now that I won my first round, I can finally stop feeling so guilty. Not that you were easy to beat." He said, trying to lighten Neds mood. "I dont get it either, Nero..but you did win that duel, so in my opinion you have a right to be here" He sound, though his voice could have used some conviction. Just at that time, Carter showed up. "Hey guys, did I miss anything?"

"Oh I see you won Nero, thats cool." He laughed. "Will, when did you get here?" He asked him. "Hey you know me, my timing is based on efficiency." He laughed. "Ggh, excuse me.." Ned grumbled and walked off. "Hey..whats with him?" Will asked. Nero did not feel like telling Carter right now, so he decided to change the subject. "Hey, you have to duel after the current match." Carter blinked. "And about that.. who is next again?" Jacobus still had trouble remembering the bracket. "Oh, well lets see." He pulled out a sheet of paper. "You printed it out, I see." By now he figured that William was just the kind of guy to do that. "Of course. My memory is a trainwreck, anyway. Says here that Edgar Diamond and Sean Travers are up next. This should be interesting.." He looked at his friend. "Should I elaborate?" He nodded. "Heh. Well they're both high-ranking gamers from their own country, Sean is actually the current champion of England, while Edgar has visited the most leagues since the game was created. Both of them sound like exciting opponents for the next round, this will be very good."

And just as he put down his bracket sheet, did the two came from their exits, and enter the field. They were greeted with much jubilation, seeing as how they were well known in public contests. Edgar Diamond wore a simple brown leather clothes, and a hat that matched colors with his clothes. He also had his trademark MP3 player with him, whenever he was not dueling, he was listening to his music collection. On the other hand there stood Sean Travers, who wore a goldlike polo shirt and had his hair slit backwards with massive amounts of gel. "Let the duel begin!" The two did not even bother to greet each other, as they were only focused on the match itself. Edgar turned off his device, while Sean adjusted his hair. Then they were both ready to play the game. "Lets do this." They drew their cards, and it was Sean who began. "You will be amazed by my special deck, friend! I am the champion of this country, and due to that, only I am allowed to use this deck!" He played his first monster, while everyone else watched.

Seans LP: 8000 Edgars LP: 8000

On the other side of the contest area, a young girl had just completed her match as well. Venice Gray had to play in the final match of her division, and she went up against an intimidating duelist running a One Turn Kill deck. Everyone was betting on his victory (not literally) But despite all odds being against her, she edged in a victory, leaving the large man speechless. "I got beaten by a girl, a..aah..aaah!" He in turn started sobbing like one as well. "Sorry..sir. I did not mean to upset you." She apologized, but he would not hear it. In fact he had to be dragged off the stage by several officiants. "I hope not everyone reacts like that, or else I would feel sad for defeating them" She sighed and walked away. Now that the duels had ended here, she was free to go wherever she wanted,

"What the hell kind of display was that? He cried over a card game." And once again, Cleo was there, ready to comment on those that took dueling way to serious. "Eh..Cleo, you were here?" Venice did not expect to see her, since she was in another division then hers. "Oh I only came here because his noise carried over all the restaurant. And no, I don't get why they have one of those inside a stadium. God knows what kind of sports they used to play in here." It was true though, Outerdeck even arranged to have several small fastfood and ice cream shops inside each stadium, they used all the expenses they could find. "Well I feel sad for him, but he was so scary at first, I did not want to lose either." Cleo closed her eyes and moaned. "Ugh. You wont get anywhere if you think 'duelists' are scary... I mean how intimidating can you get at a card game." Ms. Gray was not quite sure who she was talking too. "Well I will keep that in mind then." She smiled. "You go ahead and do just that, just dont start crying if you do lose to someone like me."

Seans LP: 1200 Edgars LP: 1100

Back at the final game of the first round, things went pretty much as expected. Both players were neck and neck with each other, allthough one was more overconfident then the other. Sean had a very rare Destiny Hero deck, which in this world was a new and untested series. "Time for my best card to show his face, the Limited Edition version of Destiny Hero Plasma" He sacrificed D-hero Diamond Dude(1400/1600), along with E-hero Stratos (1800/1600) and D-Hero Fear Monger (1000/1000). Then the winged Plasma warrior (1900/600) unveiled his unholy image to the crowd, and they were in awe. "My Destiny Hero can absorb one of your monsters and eat half of its attackpower! There were two monsters on his side of the field, he devoured one (1800/400) of them with his veined wings and increased his power(2800/400). "Furthermore, for the next few turns, all your monsters effects are negated by Plasma." Edgar did not comment on that. He just coughed "And now I declare an attack on your side of the field!" He targeted the other monster card (2200/1600) "Can not allow that."

Diamond replied with his trap card, Magic Cylinder. "I will not fall for that." He countered with his own quickplay spell card, Ring of Defense, which negated the effect damage done to him, by a trap card. "Clever." Though at least his attack was cancelled out. Now it was Edgars turn, and he ran a deck just as rare as Destiny Hero, though nobody knew who gave it to him. "Summon Gladiator Beast Hoplomus (700/2400)" Namely, a Gladiator beast deck. Gladiators aided in each other in battle. The other was Spartacus, a dinosaur (2200/600) named after the infamous gladiator from the Roman empire era. "Those two can't do anything to D-hero Plasma, besides their effects are negated!" Sean boasted. "Know that, but they can fuse too. Like the Neos and the VtoZ."

Travers gasped, as Hoplomus and Spartacus combined. "Automatic Fusion?" They united into Gaiodiaz (2600/1500) "Also, your Destiny Hero is only as strong as the powers he steals." He played the spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon, to wipe out the equipment monster that Plasma had absorbed, bringing him back to his base strength (1900/600) "Crap." Then Gaiodiaz, a well-armored dino-warrior, took out an axe and mercilessly slayed the demonic hero. "Also, now that the bloody hero is gone, effects can be activated once more. Geordias inflicts damage to the opponent, equal to the defense that was destroyed." His opponent flinched. That meant he had lost! "No way, that was quick." Others were equally stunned. "The winner is, Edgar Diamond!" The judge declared, and he silently accepted the victory. While Sean graciously stepped down, he was one of the few losers today, that did not freak out over their loss. "Heh, he is your next opponent Will, I hope you can take on his weird monster cards." Nero said. "Well first I need to worry about my current opponent, dont I?"

Seans LP: 0

The cheering lasted long, but ceased automatically when the next round started. Dieter had walked up to the stage, waving at several of his fans. "That guy...is your enemy?" Nero could hardly believe it. "Dieter Carson.." Several watchers, mostly fangirls in the audience started to cheer back at him. "Oh, that kind of duelist." Nero and Carter sighed in unison "Yes well. I am well prepared. I pulled out my special deck for this one." He smirked, showing another stack of cards. "Special deck, not your cyberdark deck?" Carter shook his head. "Nope, you will see. Besides I would not use the deck that I used in front of Ned" He walked up the platform. And there he was, in all his overcoated glory. Today he wore a festive green duster coat, and a frilly white shirt underneath. He pulled off his assymetrical sunglasses and spoke. "Listen to this, this is the curse of being popular." He waved back until his arm got tired. _"I assume from their familiar yells, that those were the people that partied all night long." _Not even here he could be at peace. "Anyway, its time for me to face this brute." He placed the shades in a pocket, the coat had many of those

Next he pulled out his cards. "I have chosen just the deck to deal with the likes of you, whatever your name was." He inserted them into his disk. "Thats William Carter, at least remember that." He also activated his dueldisk. "Good luck Will." Nero said, just before he re-entered the stands. "The duel commences! Carter against Carson!" Before the duel even began though, Dieter was already set on going first, however the judge would not allow that, so instead they did a coin toss. "I of course pick heads, but you may throw the coin. I do not want to waste money on a betting game." He said, Carter moaned. "If you say so. Guess I am tails." He tossed a penny, and it landed on tails. "This means I go first right? Good..." Carson just grumbled something under his breath and drew five cards. "Well now, I begin by setting one monster in facedown defense mode, and one card facedown in the magic/trap zone." He could not do much more.

Dieters LP: 8000 Wills LP: 8000

"Well now, was that everything? I guess I can not expect much more." He drew his sixth card and grinned. "Would you like to see the deck I chose for this tournament, I bet you would." He selected one card from his hand. "I normal summon, Yariza, of the Six Samurai!" He called out the silent warmaster, armed with the glowing javelin(1000/500) "Samurai deck?" That was one of Outerdecks newer creations, he recalled discussing such cards with his brother once. "Indeed my unfair foe. I am enacting the role of the noble knight, fighting his way towards the finals. You are but a mere peasant in my eyes. In any case, each samurai has its own special skill, I will show you. Yariza can attack you directly." The warrior took aim. "Shouldn't that be, only when another one of its comrades joins it?" He asked. "Ah you know their effects. A Samurai normally only gets to use its power when a second samurai monster is on the field. But I alone have a special card that circumvents such trivial matters. I activate, Shiens Shadow, it will act as a second samurai instead. And now I can strike at you!" A spell appeared on the field, and its shadow was casted over Yariza. Then suddenly it stabbed Carter directly. "Yeow!" The spell proved its potency as the direct attack certainly hit him.

Wills LP: 7000

_Shiens Shadow, Continuous Spell  
__As long as this card is face-up on the field, it counts as a face-up Six Samurai monster card. If a Six Samurai monster card or Great Shogun Shien would be destroyed as a result of battle, you can destroy this card instead. During your standby phase, you must pay 500 LP, or this card is removed from play._

"Special card.." Carter cringed. "You mean the company made it just for you, why would they do that?" He knew the company well, they werent big on charity. "Easy...money." He gloated. "I have to much on my hands, thats why I spend so much on this card game. I mean, why would I waste money on card packs, when I can pay people to make them for me. Besides the Six Samurai have this quality that endears me." He placed a trap card facedown. "Anyhow, you can go once more." He said that as if it was an act of sympathy. "...Well I know I can not stand this guy." Nero commented from his seat. "Hmph, to think people expected me to be the company's favorite." Carter muttered under his breath as he drew a card. "What was that?" Carson overheard and became curious. "Nothing, nothing."

"Can me move on?" He flipped his facedown monster card. "This is a Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650). If I tribute summon a Light monster, I can use this monster for two tributes instead of one." He sacrificed the Kaiser serpent. "So I normal summon the 7-star fairy, Angel 07" A limbless flying fairy-type (2500/1500). appeared on the field. "If Angel 07 is tribute summoned, as long as this is on the field, the oppponent can not activate monster effects on the field." This meant Yariza could not attack directly, nor could it save itself by tributing Shiens Shadow on the field. "Angel 07 kills your samurai, obviously." Dieter did not chain, and watched as Yariza was pierced by a beam of pure light. "Ah, you wield the power of angels. How unfortunate that I will have to cut their feathers down"

Dieters LP: 6500

To be Continued in Testament 013: What Money can't Buy

**Cards used by Edgar Diamond  
**Gladiator Beast Hoplomus  
Gladiator Beast Spartacus  
Gladiator Beast Gaiodiaz

-  
Magic Cylinder

**Cards used by Sean Travers  
**Elemental Hero Stratos  
Destiny Hero Diamond Dude  
Destiny Hero Fear Monger  
Destiny Hero Plasma

-  
Ring of Defense

**New Cards used by William Carter  
**Kaiser Seahorse  
Angel 07

**Cards used by Dieter Carson  
**The Six Samurai - Yariza

-  
_Shiens Shadow_


	13. Testament 013: What Money cant Buy

Testament 013: What Money cant Buy

Dieters LP: 6000

Dieters turn came, he payed the cost for his continuosus spell Shiens Shadow. "Well well. It looks like I already have my trump card. Behold!" He first summoned Irou, the blind warmaster with then six-foot long katana (1700/1200). "Trap card: Return of Samurai. This allows me to revive a Samurai" He revived Yariza (1000/500). "Two samurai's are with me, and they allow entrance to their great commander. I special summon from my hand, the Great Shogun Shien (2500/2400)!" The crimson-armored knight arrived from a screen of mist and flames. It could only be summoned if two of its servants were on the field "They're equal in power." Someone said in the stage, comparing Angel 07 to Shien. "Yes, and now to destroy this angelic interference, that hampers my warmasters skills." Shien unsheathed his sword and plunged it into the Angels body. Yet for some reason, only it was shattered. "Hey, the general should have died too." The crowd complained. "Not true, you should read the fine print." He could not sacrifice any of his warmasters to save Shien, but he could..sacrifice his spell card. "_He tributed Shiens Shadow.. ggh _that card again, its sure convenient, for you." And next both Irou and Yariza launched a double direct strike.

Wills LP: 4300

"One last warning, peasant. Shien will limit the number of traps and spells you can use in any turn, only one can be activated each turn." He placed a trap. "Yariza dies now, since Return of the Samurai is a one-turn effect." The archer disappeared. "_Man, I just want to get this over with and go back to my bed. Dueling this guy is taxing my energy_." So he took the frontal course. "I play my facedown spell card, Profane Transformation." It was the evil counterpart to the spell: Celestial Transformation. "Using this card, I can special summon a dark-type monster card from my hand, by halfing its attackpower. Even though the monster is killed during the endphase, I will do it anyway and summon Double Coston (850/1650)." He called the darker opposite of the Seahorse. "Huh, a dark monster?" Carson was caught off-guard by the fact that he had two elements in one deck. "I sacrifce the zombie then, for Diabolos, King of the Underworld (2800/1000), because like its whiter cousin, it counts as two tributes." This way he had called out Diabolos at full power with a tribute summon, instead of at half if he were to call it directly with the spell. "I attack Irou, the warmaster!" The demonic dragon roared and destroyed the samurai with flames from hell.

_Profane Transformation, Quickplay Spell  
__Special Summon 1 Zombie or Fiend-Type monster from your hand. Halve the ATK of that monster and destroy it during the End Phase._

Dieters LP: 4900

"Might I ask, why you did not attempt to kill the bigger threat?" Carson inquired. "I am no fool. Evey Samurai has the ability to save itself by transferring their destruction to another, even the Great Shogun can choose this option. To keep Shien alive you would sacrifice Irou. Meanwhile I doubt you would do the same for one of your weaker knights. Your honor is transparent, Dieter. Besides you lose more life this way, and thats what I always aim for." Now it was Carters turn to laugh. "Hmph, you think you are clever? I activate my trap card, Swiftstrike Armor!" A golden armor came unto the field. "From now on, every time I draw a Six Samurai from my deck, I can special summon it to the field! So beware of my draws, Carter!" He was about enter his draw phase, when. "Uh-uh-uh. You forget one thing, rich guy. Diabolos has a special power, before you draw, he lets me see whats on top of your deck. And if I dont like what I see, I get to toss it away." The rich duelist cursed as Will did just that. Diabolos revealed the Samurai Yaichi on top of the deck. "Nope dont like it, to the abyss with you." The monster was forced back to the bottom of the deck.

"You're starting to bore me. I will make sure your defeat will be a laugh riot." Dieter then drew the card Diabolos did allow him to get. "Bored?" He obtained a trap card, which of course did not work for the Armor Trap. "I place this card facedown. We will see who gets bored of who. The audience has already chosen me, now only the cards remain." He smirked and summoned a very small warrior. "Shiens Chancellor Enishi (2200/1200)" The Shoguns main advisor arrived to assist his master. "I can special summon this six star monster, by removing two Samurais in my graveyard from play." Of course he only had two options, Irou and Yariza. "For this small sacrifice, I can now get rid of your strongest threat!" Enishi drew his own sword, and suddenly stabbed the dragon in the neck. "What the." Diabolos died instantly. "Once per turn Enishi can remove a face-up monster card, if he forfeits his own attacks. However this paves the way for his General to make a direct blow." Shien raised his blade again, and slashed across Carters chest.

Carters LP: 1800

"_Ggk. That one is gonna go down first." _He thought as the turn was given back to him. "_And this card..can change the tide in my favor. But I can not summon it just yet_." He put the monster he drew into his hand. "I set a monster card facedown, and end my turn." He only had one monster on the field, which made Nero worry about his chances of survival. At the very least he Enishi could not target facedown monster cards with its effect. "Draw!" Swiftstrike Armor reactivated, and he drew a Six Samurai card. "Good, I summon Nisashi." A samurai with two swords showed up (1400/700). Now the odds were stacked against him, even more then last turn. "And I can still normal summon, so I call out the Spirit of the Six Samurai (500/500)" This monster was more of a ghost warrior, only its armor was solid. "The Spirit is a Union monster. I can equip it to a face-up Six Samurai, to give it 500 attackpoints. Furthermore every time this samurai union slays an opposing fiend, I can draw one card."

The Spirit joined forces with Nisashi (1900/1200), powering the twin swords even further. "The battle starts and our duel ends here!" Nisashi destroyed his facedown monster card, which was a halo-like fairy (1400/800) "Wha...Nova Summoner.?" And then a second came (1400/800). "When killed, the Summoner can summon another angel with less then 1500 attackpoints, like itself heh." William explained, it was similar to the Shining Angel monsters. "You dare laugh? Dont forget that Nisashi can attack twice in one turn." The double blader used his second weapon to cut down the second Nova, however a third (1400/800) took its place just as easily. "Rrrgh, and they're in defense mode too." Shien killed a third one, after which Carter jokingly called out an actual Shining Angel (1400/800) "Its endless, wouldnt you say?" He could keep this up for a while. "Argh, enough of this. Enishi!" Unfortunately this time, he chose the destructive path. He skipped the chancellors battle phase again, so he could destroy the Shining fairy with his effect, avoiding its special summon trigger.

Due to the monster equiped to Nisashi, Dieter had drawn two more cards. "Well it was fun while it lasted, and the chain did it was supposed to do. That is, send enough angels into the grave, for this!" He removed Angel 07 and two Nova Summoners, along with Diabolos. "Sky Scourge summon, the combined power of dark and light!" Now the reason for his decks duality was revealed. "I call Enrise, the lighter half of Chaos. (2400/1500)" He used the rare Sky Scourge cards, which needed both angel and demon, for its creation. Enrise, the blind angel, needed 3 angels and 1 demon removed from the game. "Enrise has a special effect! It can remove a monster, once per turn. Your Shogun can not hide behind his men, if he is going beyond the grave." Enrise created a rift in time-space, which sucked in Shien completely. "_Guess I do owe my brother for something_." The Sky Scourges were given to him when he visited his brothers work station in the past. "Yet just like Enishi, I can not do battle in the same turn as I use his effect."

Then they were concerned again, Nero and the few members of the crowd who rooted against Dieter, because his field was wide-open. Especially if Enishi would use his..."I activate the power of Shiens servant!" ... destruction effect again. Already he tossed a sword at Enrise. Killing him rather quickly. "Now, direct attack with Nisashi, this time you are..!" The twin swordsman would have finished off Carter, if it weren't for his trap card. "Hey!" Will chained with the card, Miraculous Descent. "This trap card, revives one angel from another dimension. I removed three of them to summon Enrise, and now I call back the strongest: Angel 07(2500/2400)!" Nisashi could not touch that angel with his current force. "But its effect to negate effects is.. negated.. since this time you did not tribute summon her." He growled. "I set two trap cards facedown, and switch Enishi to defense mode." He knew that Nisashi could not be killed before his equipment card was taken care off. And Carter knew that Enishi was the bigger threat.

"Draw." But that did not mean he couldn't play a little with Dieter. "I summon Harvest, the angel of Wisdom (1800/1000). This will be a double strike on your side of the field!" Harvest, the horn blowing angel, cut through the defending Enishi, while Angel 07 blew up the Relic that was equiped to Nisashi. "I end my turn." Only one samurai remained, but that would not last for long. Just as an added insurance, he placed a trap card down. "I tire of your resistance, you already know you will be defeaten. If not by me, then by the crowd itself. Look at them, they love me..you...you're just a nobody." Carson ranted as he entered his turn. "They love you? I somehow doubt that." Was his only reply. "What? Hmph, we who has no wealth, understands no wealth." But before he could draw, his enemy interrupted again, with a chuckle. "If you ask me, they just want to get in good favors with you, since you must be the richest gamer in this entire tournament. But that does not mean you are the best of them..."

Dieters LP: 4300

"If you lose this match, all that attention gathering will seem like a waste, no?" Dieter twitched. "I do not waste anything. "Draw!" Swiftstrike Armor activated one more time, now he special summoned to the field, Kamon the bomb warrior (1500/1000). "Now with more then one Six Samurai on the field, I can special summon Grand Master of the Six Samurai(2100/800), from my hand". This was the oldest of the bushido, one of his eyes already lost to time, so he wore an eyepatch. "Harvest goes down first, then you!" The Grand Samurai could easily kill the agent of wisdom, but Angel 07 was still supposed to defend against any other attacks. "I know what you are thinking, but my facedown trap card will shatter your peasant hopes." He unveiled the card: Breakthrough. "It follows the Masters movements, when he claims a life, its power is unleashed. After that I can make direct strikes with all other samurai on my field!" That meant Kamon and Nisashi had an easy road, straight at him. If the Grand lord hit, he would be done for. "Just get out of my sight!"

He targeted Harvest. "And now you're too hasty." And then Carter activated his trap card Radiant Mirror Force. The Samurai was pushed back by an bright forcefield, a flash of energy consumed him along with Kamon and Nisashi. "Wh..what did you do?" The rich kid did not quite understand how he could lose his entire army. "Simple explanation, I used a trap which activates when three monsters are on the enemy's field and one of them attacks. It then destroyed all attackers. You can only save one, cant you?" Dieter cursed mentally as he used the Samurai protection effect to save Nisashi by sacrificing the Grand Master. At the same time he used the effect of the Grand Master which was triggered by his death. He could add a Samurai from the grave back to his hand. "I will not go down like this!" First he normal summoned that samurai: Spirit of the Six Samurai (500/500) and then he played his final trap. "Double-Edged Sword Technique! I can revive two more samurai's" He revived Grand Master (2100/800) and Kamon (1500/1000)

"I will break you!" He attempted to restart the Breakthrough chain, and now the Grand Master did manage to kill Harvest. "Ahahaha, now you lose, now...eh?" Yet for reasons he did not understand, Kamon could not attack directly. "Ehr.. Breakthrough selected the Grand Master before he died, and lost its target right there and then. You can't restart it by just summoning that same warrior." Carson panicked, how could he make that mistake. 'I did not..." He would pay greatly for that. "No, there is a cost to the Sword Technique." During the endphase, he would lose LP equal to the revived monsters offense. So he lost (2100+1500) 3600 lifepoints. "I..I lost.." Angel 07 could seal the deal by killing Kamon or Nisashi. "I surrender.." He got so caught up in the moment that he did not even think to hold back. "In the end, you abandoned substance for style, and you lost..._I just wished this would take away from my memory that awful sleepless night_." He sighed.

Carters LP: 1500 Dieters LP: 0

"Well I knew he could beat him." Nero smirked, as William walked off the stage. Though he wished Ned would have stayed to see this. Dieter stood on the platform for a while longer, numbed by his own defeat. The audience synchronized with his own lack of words, and stopped cheering from him all together. "Oh well. At the very least he wont be throwing any more late-night parties."

The first round was over already, the people were starting to retreat back to their hotels. One of those victorious duelists walked happily towards his hotel. He was from the second division tomorrow he would face Cleo. Alans defeat must have been a fluke, so he was confident in his ability to beat her. But as he walked through the streets, a voice called out to him. It came from one of the stands, in the middle of all other street performers. A simple name for the stand was placed on top: Glyphs Magic Corner. Everyone else had left shop, only this shadow kept his place up for this long. "Psst, hey kid, do you want to see a cool magic trick?" The man coughed. "A trick huh?" Stefan was to pleased with himself to feel the ominous vibes the place gave off. "What can you show me then, it better not cost me money." He grunted. "Oh no..no no no. Free of charge, for a winner like you." This apparently put him at ease as he walked closer towards the strange shop. "Believe me, you will not forget this spectacle..kiddo"

(To be continued in Testament 21: The Sweet Sixteen)

**New Cards used by William Carter  
**Double Coston  
Diabolos, King of the Abyss  
Nova Summoner  
Shining Angel  
Sky Scourge Enrise  
Harvest Angel of Wisdom

-  
Profane Transformation

-  
Miraculous Descent  
Radiant Mirror Force

**New Cards used by Dieter Carson  
**The Six Samurai - Irou  
Great Shogun Shien  
The Six Samurai - Yaichi  
Enishi, Shiens Chancellor  
The Six Samurai - Nisashi  
Spirit of the Six Samurai  
The Six Samurai - Kamon  
Grandmaster of the Six Samurai

Swiftstrike Armor  
Return of the Six Samurai  
Breakthrough  
Double-edged Sword Technique


	14. Testament 014: Sweet Sixteen

Testament 014: Sweet Sixteen

The next anouncement was spread across the city, so that every duelist could listen in. "It has come to our attention that all other divisions have finished their duels, so we can now assemble the bracket for round 2." It should be simple for the winners to figure out who their next opponent will be anyway. It was a simple elimination setup after all, Edgars next opponent would be William, while Nero faced some guy named Isshin. "I wonder who else made it." Nero said, before some extra anouncements came. "Furthermore, the losing duelists will be allowed to cash in what D-points remain on their rank card, and their rooms at the hotel are payed for until the finals of this tournament. The same applies to those that face defeat in the next three rounds. The only thing is, your dueldisk has been disconnected from the mainframe, so you can no longer duel using our technology, not in this town. The limit will only be lifted when we have a champion."

That meant that now Ned had fully lost his online access, dueldisk wise. "Oh there you were." They found him skulking outside the arena walls. "My laptop is all I have left." He moaned. "And you can talk after all. Come on... cheer up. Maybe I lose in round two or something like that. You can at least look forward to my downfall, right?" Zoro only spat at the ground. "Like you care. How is it productive to cheer me up, oh great manager?" Will sighed, he might as well have not tried. "Well actually I am just trying to get on your good side, so you will allow me to switch rooms. I reckon that you hanging out with the one that beat you, would be counterproductive to your mood right?" He said this, but secretly he mostly wanted to get away from the noises Dieter might still make. "Thats more like you, ggh." Nicolai seemed to give the idea some thought. "Fine, you and Jacobus can have the room, I will get your suite then. They finished the deal by exchanging keys, and Ned left without saying another word. "That went well." The other two duelists walked away from the arena as well

"Well Nero, I hope you dont mind my company." He laughed. "Oh of course not, its ...Hey its Venice!" He saw her standing across the street, as the duo walked out of the stadium. Cleo was there as well, acting almost like her shadow. "Oh h-hey guys. I just saw Ned walking out of the stage, he looked mad. Did he lose?" She asked. "Yeah, I am sorry." Nero halfsmiled. "Sorry for what? It was either him or you, and I prefer this outcome actually." Ms. Caine said, drawing attention from Carter as well. "Hey, is that a compliment?" He was kinda surprised. "Tsch, dont get me wrong. Its just that if I had to choose between him and you, I'd strangle him first." As she put it, rather morbidly. Nero perceived it as a blessing none the less. "Well, thanks then. I assume you two made it as well." He was not sure about the goth girl as he said this, her face never betrayed any enthusiasm. "Yeah, but now I am even more nervous for round 2." Gray shivered.

"I heard those fortune tellers made it as well, thats nice for them.." They were running out of things to say "Come on guys, we'd better make use of this free time." Carter pulled out his card. "We can use this to cash in at restaurants and what not, right? We might as well go together." The others thought that was a good idea. "Well you mean the other card, I believe. Thats your ID card." She could tell because of the obvious color difference . "Oh, my bad." He pulled out his other card. "I wonder where we can see how many points this thing has gathered." The card itself did not specify. "Knowing these people, there's a customized ATM somewhere." Cleo suggested. Even she had to eat sometime. "Well lets ask around, then." Nero said, and thus they initiated their quest for D-points intel. They were all so carefree and elated, after having passed the first round, that they never even noticed that someone had been watching them the whole time.

It was a man in a white coat, a lab coat. "..." The stranger kept a steady watch over the foursome, not moving until he was certain that they had left his line of sight. "_I had almost been spotted by those four, the master would have been more then upset if he found that out"_. The labcoated had not come alone though. "_I better convene with the others." _Four more were stationed around the city, each had the same white clothing, and there was one for every arena. They had observed all duels for the first phase, and now they had enough data to report back to their one master. "_Knowing my luck they will all choose me to talk to the master." _He shivered visibly, looking at an emblem on his coat. The symbol was a strange six-pointed star with one crooked point. That was the symbol of his masters enterprise.

Later that evening, the gang had tracked down and found themselves a nice restaurant a few blocks away from their hotel. Apparently Cleo had gathered the most D-points, while Nero had the least. It was tied to the amount of lifepoints he had remaining after the game ended, Jacobus only had 100 LP left. "Ah well, its enough for me." Carter meanwhile ordered a minimum amount of food as well, even though he had enough for two whole meals. "Hey its all about marginalizing one's resources, if I save up for tomorrow, I have some left in case I lose to Edgar." The other just glared at him. "Thats a word?" Cleo scoffed. "Why yes it is. One that falls often in the family line, because my brother is a businessman who works in Outerdeck." He boasted. "Uh, you said that before, didnt you?" Venice said. "Well I am not complaining, but is spending so much money on this card game contest, resource marginizwhatever?" Caine asked William. "Ehr..well." He did not have a convincing answer ready.

"We dont mind, do we?"

Alas, not everyone had an exciting night. Ned Zoro re-entered his room, or rather his new suite. "_Hmph, its better-looking then I thought. Why would Carter give it up?" _Then he overheard the obnoxious sounds coming from down below, the party crowd was still active, even without Dieters sponsoring. Williams plan was all to clear now. "_Ugh, damn you Carter_." He cursed under his breath, and sat down. "Maybe some browsing can take my mind off of things.." Like his loss to someone who did not even belong here. He placed the laptop on the table, and hooked it up. A few minutes and some software errors later he was online and swooping through forums, discussing the tournament and other related items. And half an hour later his interest was locked unto something, everyone on the net was drawn to it actually.

"What the hell, rumors surrounding this tournament?" The thread he checked mentioned something about bribes and illegal duelists. It also had a hotlink, which he clicked. Here's what it said: Rumors regarding blackmail have entered the society of duelists. Tonight at 9 PM, we received unofficial word that Outerdeck Company sponsored one of their own duelists, allowing them free passage into the final rounds. Nothing is confirmed yet, no names are mentioned, and the company is not giving out any information on the matter. Nicolai did not want to believe it either, the source wasn't very credible. However this was the real world, so it was possible, no...probable "_But who, could it be William..even he cant sink that low_." He flinched as he recalled Nero's story. "_The judge.. it could be... him_.."

When the sun had left the skies. The white stranger reach a place where was free to contact his superior. He clicked on his watch, producing a blurry hologram. "Master, I am about to send to you the data, that the five of us have collected today." He clicked a few buttons and started transmitting. "Hmmheh, yes, this is good." The blur responded with a low cackle. "Some of these children show real promise, we may have snatched 'the chosen' yet. But its to soon to conclude anything, your men should stick around for another round or two." The coat nodded. "Its hard to stay unnoticed though, sir, there are to many people to keep track off." The master snorted in response. "Pfeh, all you need to concern yourself with is the duelists and the judges, they alone add up to the grand equation. But dont fret, operation rumor control is already underway." He chuckled. "I see. You plan to distract them with our 'spy'. Yes, 'he' will certainly keep those kids looking in the wrong direction."

Though the suspicion seeds had been planted, and several gamers already started doubting even their closest friends, none had enough evidence to condemn another. Not even Ned was certain of Nero's guilt in the matter, since the details he had were to vague to determine anything. He spent the next few hours scouring the net relentlessly and he still could not find any proof, just more rumors. Not everyone was made aware of the bribe, only the net was up to date, and not every duelist thought to take their computers with them. So Jacobus and Carter woke up the next day, without a care in the world. Except for the obligatory second round concerns. They still had about three hours before the first match of their division, since the roster was less packed. "Hmm I am up around 1 PM, and you at 11 PM." He checked his sheet again, apparently he had printed out a lot of information and kept everything in his pockets.

"Well I better check the shops to see if I can edit my deck a little." Soon Nero was inside of the card shops, but once he got there, he noticed how expensive everything was here. "100 D-points for one Future Fusion? Thats even more then I payed for my dinner combined." If only he had not won the duel with so few lifepoints, so many cards here were attractive. "Excuse me sir." Just then, one of the officials approached him, something that had not happened before during his stay here. "I will need to see your ID-card." He asked politely. "What? Oh sure.." He checked his coat and produced the red card. "Thank you." He ran the card through his scanner. "Might I ask whats this all for?" he asked the man. He did not respond, until his tool gave the green light. "You check out sir, I hope I have not been a bother." He turned around and was about to leave. "As for why I am doing this, its just to ensure that nobody here is staying on illegal grounds. After all, only the towns inhabitants, the duelists and the ticketholders are given official ID-cards." He left as suddenly as he came. "..Odd."

Venice and Cleo however, were well informed on the matter, as others came up to them, asking them if they were the 'insider'. "Wh-what? No we're not. I wouldn't think of doing that." The girl protested, and the guys accepted her answer all to quickly, as she did not appear to be a very suspicious kid. "Hmph, what if I am?" Caine was less eager to clear her image. "In fact, it sounds logical for me to be the one. I mean, how else could I get this far, I sure as hell am not integral, or whatever that Marcus guy said." She did pass all three trials without any effort, but she did that without assistance from an outside source. "Is that so?" Some wondered if they should believe this strange goth-girl, others were willing to believe her. In either case, they were to weirded out by Cleo, to do anything about it. So they left, searching for other supects. "This is scary, who would bribe the company?" Gray said. "Its like a witch-hunt, but with cards. Whoop de doo."

And then the time had come for the second round to commence, sixteen players, eight matches, and only eight would advance. One of those eight duelists was Stefan Kadich. It was strange for him though, that he could barely remember what happened last night. He visited some street magicians stand, and then he woke up in his own hotelroom. "Well I guess I had better prepare for my fight against that goth, eheheh." Yet as he packed out his cards, he noticed that. "Hey..these aren't mine! Where are my cards..did someone steal them?" All of his cards were exchanged with a whole new decktype. He wanted to search through his room, but first he touched the deck. And as he did, a signal was sent straight into his mind, in the shape of an abandoned voice. _"Stefan Kadich, today you will use tis deck, and duel in my name. Your opponent is Cleo Caine, it will interest me greatly to see how she handles this match-up_." The voice stopped, and just like that, he had changed his mind. "Yes, I will use this deck, Lord Glyph."

(To be continued in Testament 015: Get your Own Luck)


	15. Testament 015: Get your own Luck

Testament 015: Get your Own Luck

Everyone arrived at their retrospective stadium. Nero was one of the first to show up this time, yet Will had not followed him. "I am going to check out Venice's division today. You are welcome to join me when your duel is over." That was what he said, and when Nero asked if he should not stay and see who his next opponent would be, if he overcame Edgar, he simply replied with "I'd like to think that you can at least get far enough to face me, I look forward to our duel. And I have seen enough of your opponent already." And there he was all alone again. Ned did not even show up anymore, and Cleo was in her own division, to bored to check out other people's matches. "Oh well, I should concentrate on my own duel." He checked his deck one more time, everything seemed to be in order, his sidedeck and fusion deck were fine as well. "Here I go." he stepped unto the platform, where his adversary waited for him. "You're Nero the Hero right? Heh, funny name." The pun had made its way into the tournament as well now. "Great.."

At the same time Ned raced towards the stages, still carrying his laoptop with him. He had learned enough through chatrooms and forum threads to build his hypothesis. He carried more with him then just his computer though, he had some sound equipment as well. _"Just you wait Nero, or whoever the trespasser is. I will find you, and make sure you're expelled!"_

Then in stadium A, Colin reacquinted himself with the four players that were in his division: The dutchman Alfred de Boer, the British Mellany Deepgrave and the silent Jackson Doe. "You're Mellany's opponent next? Ugh I hear you finish of all your opponents with the same kind of move, over and over again." Mellany looked like a Cleo-gothclone, only with less black and more provocative clothing. She of course liked to refer to herself in third person, because she loved the cliches. "Two goths in the same tournament. England is truly different from Holland." Alfred commented, he came from a country where dueling was nearly dead. He was the only one from his country to even register as a high-ranked duelist. "..." Jackson Doe meanwhile just stood there in a corner of the room. "Whats his problem, Mellany wants to know." Mellany grunted, as she tried to get his attention by waving her arms incessently. "He doesn't even blink!" She rasped. Jackson was more statue then man. "Eh he is always like that." Alfred said.

_"..I am stuck in the freak division..and I am one of them. Argh_." Sairve sighed "Anyway, are you ready to duel Mellany?" The girl asked the fortune teller. "Oh you mean me... Sure why not." He shrugged. Why did he always end up with the mean girls? The two came out of the prep room and unto the platform. "The first match of the second round, ladies and gentleman!" The judge yelled as loud as he could, the crowd cheered back even louder then that. "Colin Sairve going against Mellany Deepgrave. Give them a warm applause, because their fight is about to begin." The duelist drew their cards. "Mellany must warn you, Colin. She will be very upset if you beat her the same way you beat Lydia and Ananka." The girl hissed, to which he replied with a calm tone of voice. "I will see what I can do." And the duel was on, and she went first, summoning her fiendish creatures to overpower Colin.

Ten minutes later..

Colins LP: 2700 Mellany's LP: 0

"The winner is Colin Sairve!" The judge shouted, and this time the crowd was less then ethusiastic. "You did not listen to Mellany!" The goth cursed, as her lifepoints were depleted by the same trap he always used, Dora of Fate. "Hey its my style, I made no promises." He explained. "And besides, I did not do it exactly the same way. Your fiend card had up to ten stars, thats why I used the spell card Demotion to downgrade his stars by two, allowing me to use Fusilier Dragon with Dora of Fate. Its my number one trick, an oldie with a new twist." He smirked. "Mellany is very angry!" She hissed and left the stage while ranting to herself. "_Well, that was kind of fun, but it was over way to soon_." He yawned, as he walked away, making room for Jackson and Alfred. "What to do, what to do." He pulled out the tarot cards from his deck, thinking he could read his own future with them, but they gave him a better idea_. "I know, I will observe Ananka's duel. I wonder if she is still so unlucky with her Arcana, heheheh."_

Ananka's duel started a bit later then those of division A and C, the judges wanted to give the people a chance to see as many duels as possible. Still Colin was not present for the first few stages, where the two gamers approached the platform. The extravagant Ananka stood opposite of the highschool jock-type Bastion. "What, another girl Tsch, I crushed one last day." He complained, thinking she would fall just as quickly. "You sound surprised, didnt you see my duel, or at least the bracket?" The seeress inquired. "Bah, as if anyone could place a gender to that name of yours. Ananake del ilsa, or something to that cause." He growled, she just sighed. "Well surprises are sometimes a good thing. Not that I would know about them, being a tarot reader and all" Not amused, Bastion activated his dueldisk, then barked at the judge, ordering him to start the duel. "Yes sir Hera. The duel begins!" He raised his hand, sounded the signal, and both players drew five cards from their deck.

Bastions LP: 8000 Ananka's LP: 8000

"I go first!" He grunted "Never heard of ladies first, I see." She said, as Bastion drew his sixth card without any objections. "Why should I hold back for the sake of a girl. Even if I did do that, you females would complain about being treated like weaklings, you are never happy." He saw his hand and smiled. "Heh, this card already? My cards must really want to annihilate you. I activate Future Fusion!" The crowd was in awe. "I discard ten, count em, ten machine monster cards from my deck. Including two Cyber Dragons." They were mostly Dekoichi's, Cyber Phoenixes and Card Gunners. "Soon my Overdragon will hit the field. But until that time, I shall take the few hits you have to offer me." He placed one monster facedown. "I wonder how much they will itch" He was done.

"You're making it very easy to be disliked, arent you?" She drew in her turn, and summoned her monster. "Let me introduce my Major Arcana Forces. This is number four, The Emperor." An unusual alienlike being was summoned, with multiple tentacle claws and two faces on opposite sides of its body (1400/1400) "Tarot cards? I dont believe in that bullshit." He scoffed. "You should, for your own health." It was at this time that Colin entered the stands, from where he had a good view of the duel. "_Good I did not miss much_." He looked around, strangely both Cleo and Stefan were not yet here. "_Eh, their loss. Now, Ananka, will your luck be as horrendous as last time?" _The Arcana started turning using the heads/tails effect, and it stopped soon after. "What now?" yet the demonic Arcana stared right at Mr. Hera. "Face-up position, it gets the benevolent effect, so all Arcana-Force monsters will gain 500 attackpoints (1900/1400). You can say that he upgraded from number four to number nine." She ordered an attack. "Why thank you, clever girl."

Yet his facedown monster card was the Magical Merchant(200/700). "His flip effect activates. It allows me to pick up cards from my deck." At least until he got his hands on a spell or trap card. "Aha, gotcha!" His fourth card was Overload Fusion, he took it, and threw away the other three cards. "My turn!" He drew and could barely contain his laughter. "Here comes it. Overload Fusion removes material in the grave for the fuson of a dark machine. " He removed to six machine-type monster cards in his graveyard from play, including the first Cyber Dragon. _"..Ah he wants to keep his other five, in case he can use Overload a second time_." Then the fusion began, and six machines formed one six-headed Chimeratech Overdragon (4800/4800) "When summoned it destroys all other cards on my field." But at this point he didnt need Future Fusion anymore. "Its a pity that I can not remove even more then ten machines, otherwise I might have been able to scrape away,all of your lifepoints. Not that it makes a difference."

He extended his hand. "Overdragon, destroy her Arcana with Chimera Evolution Burst!" One of the heads charged and released a stream of energy, consuming The Emperor. "Measly 500 attackpoint boosts dont stand any chance against this! You cant even touch me, and I have plenty more to go!" He placed a trap card facedown, ending his turn afterwards. "_Hmm, I dont know anymore who to root against_." Colin moaned. "Done are we, good. Lets play a game." She first placed one card facedown. Now I use this, spell card Choice of Fate. Right now, in my hand I hold three cards. You must pick one of them. If its a monster card, I can summon it immediately. If not, I must discard the spell or trap card. Choose wisely." Her spell was similar to the trap A hero Emerges, but this card did not have to wait for an enemy's attack. Bastion had to use a full minute before he could decide. "The left card." She nodded. "You chose well, you chose the weaker Arcana Force II, the High Priestess." It was the priestly angel (1200/1200) again.

Ananka's LP: 5100

_Choice of Fate, Normal Spell  
__When this card is activated, your opponent selects 1 random card from your hand. If it is a monster card, special summon it on your side of the field. If it is a spell or trap card, send it to the Graveyard._

"But like you say, it does not make a difference, I will just tribute it for a higher number." She tributed the woman. "Number twelve, The Hanged Man(2200/2200)" And a strange elastic frame showed up. It turned around. "Now his effect is: Once per turn I can destroy one monster on the field." The Hanged Man stopped faced down. "Ha I bet thats bad news!" He shouted. "No, not in this case. The Hanged Mans effect is positive when faced down." Bastion was stunned, suddenly his mighty Overdragon was slain by the long limbs of the shapeless Hanged Man. "As I said, it destroys one monster on the field. Then it inflicts effect damage equal to its original attackpoints." That blow cost quite a lot, and she still had a regular attack. "Hanged Man attacks the player directly." He refused it however, with his trap. "Mirror Force!" Which deflected the Arcana, and wiped it out at the same time. "You just got lucky, but now your turn is over!"

_Arcana Force XII The Hanged Man 6/2200/2200 Light/Fairy  
__When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
__Heads: Destroy 1 monster on your side of the field and inflict damage to your Life Points equal to the total ATK of the destroyed monster.  
__Tails: Destroy 1 monster on your opponent's side of the field and inflict damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the original ATK of the destroyed monster._

Bastions: 3200

"And I activate a spell card, Magical Stone Excavation! I discard two cards from my hand to reclaim a spell: Overload Fusion!" Overload Fusion was limited to one per deck, but this way he could use it more then once. "Guess what I use it to fusion summon a second Chimeratech Overdragon." He removed the five other machines and the first Chimera, to make it just as strong as the first one (4800/4800). "_That will hurt." _Colin thought. "I have had it with you! Tenheaded Chimera Burst!" All ten heads combined their energy, and released it upon the fortune teller. As far as the audience could tell, she was blown to kingdom come by the attack. And yet, after the dust cleared, they saw that she had stood her ground. "What!" And a new Arcana was at her side. It had the twisted form of a woman in a big dress, and with clawed hair. "I discarded number fourteen: Temperance, to negate the battle damage, worth of 8000 points. You could use some temperance yourself." She said. "Shut up." He placed a trap and ended his turn.

"Draw." She then flipped her facedown spell card, which she only placed facedown to avoid discarding it through Choice of Fate by accident. "I activate Necro Sacrifice. I can summon a monster without tributes. Instead you gain a sacrifice on your side of the field. So for a six-star monster you receive one monster" The spell revived Temperance (2400/2400) to his field, allthough she got the Tails Effect. And she normal summoned the six star Arcana. "Arcana Force XIII, The Death (2300/2300)." It was a very extra-terrestrial representation of the grim reaper, complete with a lethal scythe. "But Death is not 'the end of life.' Most of the times its simply a change in life, a second chance." Death was also turned upright. "His benevolent effect is.. to revive the last Arcana in my grave." And because Temperance was already back from the dead, the last card that died was The Hanged Man (2300/2300), who received his upright effect a second time. "This is incredible!" Colin gasped. "Destroy his monster, Hanged Man."

_Necro Sacrifice, Normal Spell  
__Select 1 Level 5 or higher monster in your hand. Special summon monsters from your graveyard to your opponent's side of the field equal to the number of tributes required to normal summon the selected monster. (Your opponent selects whether the monsters are Special Summoned in attack Position or defense Position.) During the turn this card is activated, you may normal summon the selected monster without tribute._

_Arcana Force XIII The Death 6/2300/2300 Light/Fairy  
__When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
__Heads: Once during your turn, you can special summon to your field, the last monster card that was sent to the graveyard.  
__Tails: Once during your turn. Your opponent can special summon one monster card from his graveyard to his side of the field._

It targeted Chimeratech, and killed it with its strangulating arms. "I will not let that happen!" He chained with his trap card Fusion Guard, sending one monster, Cyber End Dragon, from his fusion deck to the cemetery, to negate the effect damage, which would have totalled at 4800. "A last effort I suppose." Yet she followed with the spell she just drew, Suit of Swords. "When I play this, and I get the upright effect, I can destroy all your monster cards." She activated the spell, and it too got an upright effect, so even Temperance was killed off. Leaving his field wide open for both Arcana cards, Death and the Hanged Man finished him off with their direct hits. "No, I cant be...beaten by a girl!" He cursed. "Hee, I guess you would not have lost if your dragon was at least over Nine Thousand." And during all of this, Colin stood at the sidelines, wishing his jaw could drop from that display. _"What the friggin hell? When did she get that luck? All of her Arcana worked for her?"_

Bastions LP: 0

_Suit of Sword, Normal Spell  
__When this card is activated, flip a coin and this gains the following effects:  
__Heads: Destroy all face-up monster cards on your opponents side of the field  
__Tails: Destroy all monster cards on your side of the field_

(To be continued in Testament 016: Knowing is Half the Battle)

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve  
**Demotion

**New Cards used by Ananka de la Isla  
**Arcana Force IV The Emperor  
_Arcana Force XII The Hanged Man (+)_  
Arcana Force XIV Temperance  
_Arcana Force XIII The Death_

_-_  
_Choice of Fate (+)_  
_Necro Sacrifice (+)_  
_Suit of Swords (+)_

_+ All these cards were used by Sartorius/Saiou in the YGO GX anime, season 2_

**Cards used by Bastion Hera  
**Cyber Dragon  
Magical Merchant  
Chimeratech Fortress Dragon  
Cyber End Dragon

-  
Future Fusion  
Overload Fusion  
Magical Stone Excavation

-  
Mirror Force  
Fusion Guard


	16. Testament 016: Knowing is half

Testament 016: Knowing is half the battle

Ned finally arrived at the stadium which he would start his search at, the fourth stage. This was where Nero was having his duel right now. "_My first target_". He walked up the stands, and saw the duel in its final phase. Jacobus faced Isshin Kamaru, a duelist from Japan, known for his Strike Ninja tactics. "_Hmph, seems to be going in Nero's favor so far._" And it was his turn. Nicolai placed his stuff down on an empty seat, and waited for the duel to end. "_First I have to ask him directly_".

Isshins LP: 2100 Nero's LP: 3700

Isshin had a Strike Ninja (1700/1200) on his field already. He also had a trap facedown and soul absorption in his spell zone. Nero started his turn with some good old fusion. "I activate Polymerization. And combine Sparkman with Clayman to form E-hero Thunder Giant (2400/2000) Then by discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one face-up monster on the field if it has less attackpoints then this monster card." He discarded a monster card. "Too bad for you, chum, I can do this!" He activated Strike Ninja's effect. "I remove two dark monsters in my cemetery from play, to remove the ninja from play, until the end of my turn." This way his monster was saved from detruction, though his field was still wide-open. "Then I declare a direct attack instead!" He yelled, and the giant zapped him with bolt after bolt. However he survived the assault, just barely. "Because I removed two cards from play, Soul Absorption gave me 500 lifepoints for each removed card." His life shot up by 1000 before it went down by 2400. "I forgot about that..."

Isshins LP: 700

Nero's hopes of defeating his opponent this turn, were pushed back by the Strike Ninja spell combo. "Well then I set a card facedown as well, and end my turn." Isshin smirked, the Strike Ninja returned to his field during the endphase. "Good friend, now I will knock you down." He flipped his trap, Return from the Different Dimension. "I can give up half my Life points, to special summon as many removed monsters as possible." He had used the ninja's power more then once this duel, so he had plenty of cards in his RFG-pile. "The field has foom for four cards. I special summon two Pitchblack Werewolves (1600/1200), Don Zaloog (1400/1500) and Dark Ruler Hades (2450/1600)" He had assembled a pretty powerful army, Don Zaloog to waste his hand, Hades to kill his Hero, and the wolves were there to stop him from using traps in the battle phase. "Final sttttrrrrriiiiikkkee!" He declared dramatically, as all five monsters launched their final offense. "You can not activate a trap, I win!" He shouted.

Isshins LP: 350

"I cant activate a trap card yeah, but..I can do this." He removed Necro Gardna (600/1300)."What! Oh...you discarded that card for Thunder Giants effect" Using this, he could negate an attack. "I choose Hades, since he is the strongest of your team. His attack alone could kill my Elemental Hero, but now you can no longer touch me." Isshin cursed. In his endphase he would lose all of his four monster cards. However he at least gained 2000 lifepoints from Soul absorption, plus 500 for Necro Gardna. "Heh, if you attack me again, I will remove my ninja again, and survive again, ahahahahah."

Isshins LP: 2750

He also placed another card facedown, just in case. "Well yeah that is true." First Nero in his turn activated the spell card R-Right Justice. For every E-hero he had on the field, he could kill a spell or trap, it was of course used to destroy that ominous trap card. "But I will attack you anyway." He discarded another card to fuel the lightning giant. But of course, Isshin removed his ninja from play for the umpteenth time, and his life shot up to 3650. "You can not win this, rrgh." He had lost his trap, but he refused to show fear. "Direct attack!" Even when he got hit by thunder. "But now, quickplay spell card, Defusion!" But when the kid revealed his facedown card, he started to sweat. "I unfuse Thunder Giant back into its component warriors!" The giant split into the Earth (800/2000) and Light (1600/1400) heroes, whose combined attackpoints were enough to finish the job. "This cannot beeeee!" The man overeacted, as his life was wiped out by the two direct attackers. "The winner is, Nero Jacobus!" The judge shouted.

Isshins LP: 0

Meanwhile as division A and D were having their fun, Carter was giving his attention to the third division, the one Venice was in. "Oh you came." She said as he approached her in the stands. "Of course I did, I am sure Nero will make it.. Ehr.. Not that I doubt your capabilities. I just had not seen one of your duels yet." She was happy with that answer. "So who is before you? The bracket says something about Etna Redmond and Christine Rose." She nodded. "Yeah, they are right there." She pointed to the platform. "Oh good I did not miss anything." There were the two duelists, who had just activated their dueldisks. "Y-yeah. The one with the brown hair and white clothes is Christine. The one with the black hair and red outfit is Etna." The duel began, and after some discussion, Rose was allowed to go first. Though all she did was summoning Queens Knight (1500/1600) in face-up attack mode. "My turn hmmmm! Girl, I will show you just hot 'hot' dueling can get."

Etna's LP: 8000 Christine's LP: 8000

"I activate the spell card Blaze Accelerator" A tripod-like cannon now stood in her MT-zone. "Next I summon this card, Volcanic Rocket." A burst of flames ignited the air, anouncing the arrival of a hotred missile creature, which swooped down on the floor (1900/1400) "This card allows me to add a 'Blaze Accelerator' from my deck to my hand." Even though she already had one on the field, she searched her deck for another...though actually. "Tri-Blaze Accelerator" This spell was the upgraded version of the regular accelerator card, Volcanic Rocket could search for this as well. "I of course activate it." She said, as she reshuffled her deck, then the continuous spell hit the field. The cannon now had three barrels instead of one. "Once per turn, I can decline battle and fire a pyro-type monster from my hand, if it has less then 500 attackpoints." She discarded Volcanic Shell (100/0) from her hand, and the bullet was fired straight at Rose, piercing through Queens Knight and inflicting 500 damage.

Christine's LP: 7500

"Ah." She flinched in pain. "Yeah I bet that hurts. One shell does 500 damage, and destroys one monster on the opponents field." She grinned. "Also, when a Volcanic Shell is in my graveyard, I can pay 500 lifepoints to add a second shell, from my deck to my hand." She searched her deck a second time. "But there is nothing to shoot, so I end my turn." Rose drew another card "Well that is a nice combo, just very painful." The girl then drew, and saw that she had nothing that could kill her Pyro Rocket, not yet at least. Instead she placed cards facedown in both monster and spell/trap zones. "Thats the point honey." Then Etna's turn came up again. "But dont worry, these bullets cant kill you. However dont think that setting monsters facedown will save them And they sure as hell can give me a nice lead." She fired the second shell in her hand. The tri-cannon shot through her facedown monster and hit Rose again for another set of 500 damage. "You better have something else besides that trick." Rose smirked.

Christine's LP: 7000

"Giving me a cheek? You'd be better off praying. I can still normal summon!" She tributed the Volcanic Rocket. "I tribute summon Volcanic Hammerer (2400/1500)" Certainly a powerful pyro monster, however. "Too bad I can not attack while I use the spell to destroy monsters. But the Hammerer has the special effect of foregoing his attack, to inflict 200 damage for each Volcanic monster in my cemetery." Her monster created three small fireballs for the three monsters in her cemetery. "Fire!" The crowd gasped, as she was hit by even more fireballs. 600 damage was given to Christine. "Not done, not done! I pay another 500 lifepoints and add my final Volcanic Shell to my hand. I can keep this strategy up forever. Pick up the slack, girl!" Her turn was over at last. "She's mean, isnt she?" Will commented. Ms. Gray agreed softly

Etna's LP: 7000 Christine's LP: 6400

"You know you're giving female gamers a bad name." Christine replied. "Trap card, Call of the Haunted. I can use this trap to revive a dead monster. I choose Queens Knight" Then she went for her normal summon

"Next is Kings Knight (1600/1400)!" The King and Queen were together now. "That old combo?" Redmond was surprised. When the King was normal summoned, while the Queen was on the field, she could special summon a Jacks Knight (1900/1200), which she of course did. "But what can those knights do against my Hammerer?" She asked smugly. "Well alone, not much. However I believe in the power of teamwork, Etna.." She activated her spell card, Polymerization. "Fusion... I combine the three Knights, into the fusion monster. Arcana (3850/3500)" King, Queen and Jack formed the Joker Knight. Its power was definitely greater then the Volcanic one. "Slay that Pyro-monster!" The card knight unsheathed his sword and cut the opposing monster down with one swift stroke. "End turn.."

Etna's LP: 5550

"Damn it. Time to pick up steam." Now she drew, and looked at her hand, the last Shell specifically. "_I know the effects of the Joker Knight. She can defend against the accelerator. If a spell targets that fusion, she can discard a spell to block the effect._" But for all she knew, she had no spells in her hand and it would work after all. "What the hell, its not as if that effect can destroy the spell card. I discard the last Volcanic Shell". The trident accelerator launched another salvo of fire. "Then I will discard a spell card from my hand!" Rose activated the special effect of her fusion knight, he raised his shield and deflected the incoming flames. She discarded the spell, Brave Attack, for it. "Feh, it made you lose resources at least." She then placed a monster in facedown defense position. _I will have to use that other card!" _She thought to herself. "Planning something?" Christine asked her. "None of your concern, honey. "Your turn." She said mockingly, it was as if she wanted to get hit this turn.

"_I dont like the sound of that. But I guess I have no choice but to attack, poor poor me_" She figured she could negate the threat if it were a flip effect monster that she had waiting for her. "I attack your facedown!" Arcana cut through the set monster card, Volcanic Blaster (1200/600) "Oh!" She recognized that monster, and its effect. "Ah you know then, heh. Thanks for killing it. The revolver allows me to place a Volcanic-type card of my choice, on top of my deck." Moaning, Rose placed a card down and ended her turn. "Thats also the card that I now draw, of course. Guess which it was.." Rose did not bother to guess. "Out of time, its Volcanic Scattershot(500/0)!" Christine gulped, if she would use that as ammo for the cannon. "I can discard this for the cannon of course. But when I do this, I can also send two other Scattershot monsters from my deck to the cemetery. Their combined power will destroy all monster cards on the field!" This effect was fieldwide, so Arcana could not discard a card to defend against it.

"And every time I discard a scattershot that it not fired from the accelerator, you lose 500 lifepoints as well, not to mention the damage you take from the spell card itself!" She threw away the first scatterer, and then two more from her deck, 1000 damage. "Bang!" The spell fired at last, sending three powerful bullets to cover Arcana with explosions. "Is it gone?" Yet the girl was not willing to let go of her cards without a fight. "Spell card, my Body as a Shield! I can pay 1500 lifepoints to keep my monster on the field." The Joker came from the smoke unscathed. "Hmph, you must enjoy a sacrifice. Because that stunt hurt your life a lot more then I could have done. Oh and I am not done yet. I summon Volcanic Slicer." A raptor/like pyro lizard emerged from a field of flames (1800/1200). "This monster can inflict 500 damage if it skips a battle phase!" The Slicer opened its mouth and sent one fireball at the other duelist. "In total you lost 3000 lifepoints this one turn alone... way to go, girl." She placed a trap and ended her turn

Christine's LP: 3400

"Arcana attacks!" She wasted no time and sent the Knight to finish off Volcanic Slicer, giving Etna 2050 damage. "So much for my lead." Redmon growled. "Hrm, 3500 lifepoints left...sorry Etna but I intend to win this round. I activate Defusion!" The spell split the fusion into its three separate pieces. "What the hell?" Etna cursed. "Its still my battle phase!" The three card knights raced forward, aiming to finish off the rest of her lifepoints with their swords. "I wont let you!" But she flipped her trap."Permanent Trap card, Fire Wall!" A burning wall came in between her and her attackers. "Ha! Now I can remove fire monsters in my cemetery from play to negate direct attacks!" She had removed all three scattershots to negate all three direct attacks. Christine could not get through the flames. "Blast." Her monsters had no protection against the cannon. "_Time for my special card_. I enter Main Phase 2" She suddenly tributed two of her monsters, the King and Queen. And in front of her, a handsome young warrior showed up (2000/2000). "John..Baker?" She had never heard of a card like that. "Who the hell is that?" She protested, thinking the card was a counterfeit. "Oh its official. This is the theme of my deck, legendary hero John Baker! "

Etna's LP: 3500

_John Baker 7/2000/2000 Light/Warrior  
__When this card is succesfully normal/flip or special summoned, you can add one 'Johns Sword of Light', 'Johns Shield of Light', or 'Johns Battle Armor', from your deck to your hand._

(To be continued in Testament 017: Deck from another Series)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus  
**Elemental Hero Thunder Giant  
Necro Gardna

-  
R-Right Justice

**Cards used by Isshin Kamaru  
**Strike Ninja  
Don Zaloog  
Dark Ruler Ha Des  
Pitchblack Werewolf

-  
Return from the Different Dimension

**Cards used by Christine Rose  
**Queens Knight  
Kings Knight  
Jacks Knight  
Arcana Knight - Joker  
_John Baker_

-  
Polymerization  
My Body as a Shield  
Defusion

-  
Call of the Haunted

**Cards used by Etna Redmond  
**Volcanic Rocket  
Volcanic Shell  
Volcanic Hammerer  
Volcanic Blaster  
Volcanic Scattershot  
Volcanic Slicer

-  
Blaze Accelerator  
Tri-Blaze Accelerator

-  
Fire Wall


	17. Testament 017: Deck from another Series

Testament 017: Deck from another Series

"Gghh, good show, chum. It looks like me and my ninja's could not best you." Back at Nero´s duel Kamaru calmed down at last. He was quick enough to get in a last apology, and then he walked off the stage. Nero meanwhile looked up and smiled as he received many cheers from the audience. "_One more match to go, and then I am in the colloseum itself_." He was about to leave himself, when he saw his ex-roommate standing near the entrance. "Huh, Nicolai..what are you doing here?" He asked. "You know very well, why, I am here. Nero Jacobus." Ned was back to using full names, so Nero knew something was wrong. "You told me yesterday, that you entered the tournament on false grounds. You did not beat the judge, and yet you are here..how!" He growled. "What? I thought..I dont know myself." He was telling the truth of course, he had no idea how he found his way here. I only know that someone helped me, made it legal." Zoro cringed. "Then it could be true, outerdeck could have arranged for you to enter this tournament...didn´t you know yet?"

He remembered suddenly, the encounter with the officiant this morning. "No.. What happened?" He needed to know more then that. "They say that one of the duelists here was fixed to be here, by the company itself. Perhaps he is even poised to become the champ, with their backing. It could be Dieter, or Carter, but thanks to your story, I cant stop thinking that its you." He sounded angrier and louder with every second. "excuse me gentleman, would you take the argument elsewhere? The next duel will start soon." The judge intruded on their conversation, at which point Ned backed down. "This is not over, I have my theories." He tapped his equipment bag. "I hope that it is not you, Nero." He stormed back into the stands, while a bewildered Jacobus stayed behind. "I..I have to figure this out." He said to himself, this could not wait. As much as he would have wanted to watch Williams duel, he could not feel free until he knew what was going on. "_A trespasser..what if it IS me_?" He wondered, and feared.

Back at stadium C, Etna still protested against John Bakers appearance. "Its a special promo set, Etna." Rose explained. "A novel/writer, John Nelson, made a deal with Outerdeck, to publish these cards for him." And apparently as his biggest fan, she just had to win the entire set. "So its just a novel gimmick." Etna hissed. "No, it has a special power. When I summon this card, I can add one of his unique equips to my hand. I pick the sword!" John stretched out his hand, and within it came the sword of light from a flash of energy. It boosted his strength (2500/2000). "Equipment cards? Big freaking deal, who uses those things these days?" Rose ended her turn at this point. "Maybe this will straighten you out." She still had the Blaze Trident "I use my spell and aim for your special card, now..." But nothing happened, for some inexplicable reason, her spell refused to lock unto John. "You do not get it? My Sword of Light does more then add points, you know." Christine pointed at the fine print of the card text

_Johns Sword of Light, Equip Spell  
__This card can only be equiped to John Baker, increase the equipped monsters attackpoints by 500. Also you can choose one of following effects and activate it:  
__- The monster card equipped with this card can not be targeted by spell card effects.  
__- The monster card equipped with this card can not be affected by normal spell cards._

"I chose the first effect, so now John Baker can not be targeted by your accelerator." Etna started to grind her teeth in frustration. "You fooled me with that simple getup. Then I will just have to fire at someone else. I think Jacks Knight is still in season!" She unloaded her cannon after filling it with ammo, a Volcanic Counter monster (2500/2000) did the trick. "I am still the one who has the upper hand, honey." Jacks Knight was run through and another 500 damage bullet struck Christine. "Next I activate my spell card, Burning Vein!" Without warning, she destroyed her own Fire Wall. "I can send one spell on my field to the grave to draw two new cards from my deck." Christine was surprised, she did not expect her to give up the Fire Wall so soon. "_Tsk, no monster cards. Guess I will have to rough it_" Grunting, she placed two trap cards in her magic and trap zone, hoping to scare the girl with them. "Fired away your only monster card huh." Rose smiled, she was not the type to fear facedown cards

_Burning Vein, Normal Spell  
__Destroy 1 face-up spell or trap card you control. Draw 2 cards._

Christine's LP: 2900

Her turn came. "John Baker, direct attack!" And declared an offense right off the bat. "Impudent people only get punished." She grinned and as the sword slammed against her. Flames spread around the weapon and swirled towards Johns master. "What?" She was affected by the the blazing burst, which knocked her lifepoints down even further. "Remember when I discarded a card called 'Volcanic Counter' for my blaze cannon? Yeah that was what just nailed you. Its effect is this: as soon as I take battle damage it is removed from play in my cemetery. Then if another fire-type exists in the grave, the damage can be given to my attacker." So both players lost 2500 lifepoints. Now the crowd and Christine got why she was not inclined to keep the wall of fire intact. "You refuse to give up the lead..." They were down to their last points. Rose sighed and placed a trap card. "Hah, of course!" The woman drew once more, and the expression on her face changed to such a nasty shape, that Christine knew she had drawn one of her trumps

Etna's LP: 1000 Christine's LP: 400

"I would have loved to end your life with my accelerator, but since your monster can not be shot down, I will have to burn it down!" The Blaze Trident shattered. "I tribute my spell card, for this card: Volcanic Doomfire, the ultimate devil!" The unholy beast of earths most condemned flames, rose from the fiery depths, standing in front of John Baker with murderous intent (3000/1800). "John baker faced worse you know." She was not that impressed yet. "I am sure he has, sugar. Unfortunately you aint him. I dont care what happens in any of his books. Now lets give him a taste of doomfire!" The devil roared and blasted one fireball from its claws, straight at Baker. "I think not, I would rather turn that ember into something healthy!" But she was ready, as was her trap. "Draining Shield, your attackpower becomes my life power!" The fireball was absorbed into her trap shield. "What!" And the points of damage were converted into life points, she gained 3000 points. "The lead is mine at last! Dont feel too bad about it"

Christine's LP: 3400

Etna had no choice but to end her turn. "Patronizing me, just you wait." And Rose entered hers, and the first thing she did was equip John with his Battle Armor equipment (2700/2200). "Another equip spell, this card can either negate a monsters abilities, or negate their influence on Baker. I choose the latter." She wasn't a fool. "Ah you know about the Devils second effect." Rose nodded. "Yeah, even if I dont want to, my monsters will have to attack him if I dare to enter a battle phase. Now I wont have that problem anymore." However the opponent was not so sure about that, for she activated her own trap card. "Ojama Trio! Lets see you think a way out of this!" Suddenly all four of her remaining monster zones were filled with tokens of the polite intruding trio (0/1000) "Hey, what the.." And the intention of Etna was crystal clear, she planned to kill John Baker with the Devil, and then.. "When Doomfire kills a monster, all other monsters on the opponents field are killed too, and the player loses 500 lifepoints for each monster."

_Johns Battle Armor, Equip Spell  
__This card can only be equiped to John Baker, increase the equipped monsters attack and defense points by 200. Also you can choose one of following effects and activate it:  
__- The monster card equipped with this card can not be affected by monster card effects.  
__- The monster card equipped with this card can negate the effects of monster cards it does battle with._

The crowd made a collective gasp. "Yikes ehm, thats a rather painful card to combo with the devil." Carter commented. "And when an Ojama-token is destroyed, I lose an additonal 300 LP." Knowing this, still she summoned a new monster, Card Blocker (400/400) "This monster card is switched to defense mode when I normal summon it." Her turn was over. "Ahahah, suicidal are we? My turn, I declare an attack on John Baker!" Redmond smirked wickedly, as her monster charged his second unholy fireball. If this hit, she would lose 3200 lifepoints. "Well, do you realize then, that Card Blocker lives up to his name?" She smirked as well. "Eh?" As the devil launched its attack, the tiny warrior leaped in front of John Baker. "Card Blocker can defend against any attack made on another monster, and I can discard three cards from my deck, to boost his defense!" She discarded the top three cards from her deck, but even then the shield of her card (400/1900) was to weak to stop the devil.

At least John avoided death, due to the battle armor which gave him protection against Doomfire´s destruction effect. Sadly, all the other tokens were still subject to it. The Green, Black and Yellow Ojama tokens went off, inflicting 800 damage to Rose's life. "You still do not want to lose?" Next she flipped her trap card Volcanic Recharge, a strange burning device materialized. "I can add three Pyro-types from my grave to my hand." The trap machine released a jet of flames and spewed forth all three of her Volcanic Shells. "Then I use this spell card: Fire Cyclone!" Suddenly she discarded two of the three cards, to create a flaming vortex, that enveloped John, the cyclone attacked both equipment spells. "I can destroy as many spells as I discarded monster cards, after that I can even draw as many cards as I discarded!" The flames subsided, leaving Baker charred and without his weapon or armor (2000/2000) "In Hindsight I probably should have used this spell earlier, but I didnt expect your precious Baker to live that long.."

Christine's LP: 1000

_Fire Cyclone, Normal Spell  
__Discard Pyro-type monster cards from your hand, and destroy a number of face-up spell/trap cards on the field, equal to the number of cards that were discarded through this cards effect. During your endphase you can draw that same amount of cards from your deck._

With the armor gone, John could never hope to match Doomfire. Things looked bleak for Rose, everything depended on her next draw phase now. "Draw card." But what she received was nice too. "I activate an equipment spell card, Genji Gloves." She gave John Baker two masterfully crafted gauntlets (1000/2000). "Where did that come from? Besides, it made him weaker!" Etna laughed. "Wait and see..." John ran straight for the devil. "This spell gives him the power to make direct attacks. At the cost of his attackpoints and some lifeforce." She payed 500 LP and he kicked off of the devils face, looming over Redmond herself now. "What, no...no way, thats ridiculous!" She shrieked, before John punched her with the gauntlets. "No thats just how his powers work, Etna." And her life was reduced to nothing.

Christine's LP: 500 Etna's LP: 0

_Genji Gloves, Equip Spell  
__This card can only be equiped to level 7 or higher warrior-type monster card, decrease the equipped monsters attackpoints by 1000.  
__Once per turn, you can pay 500 lifepoints to activate one of the following effects.  
__- The equipped monster card can attack the opponent directly  
__- If the equipped monster card destroyed an opponents monster as a result of battle, it can attack once more._

The judge then anounced the endresult to the whole audience and the subsequent break in between. "She won eh, nice. I'd love to see more of those cards in action." Will had seen Volcano decks to many times already anyway, this was...refreshing. "Wouldnt you say Venice?" He asked the girl, who was quiet as usual. "Ehr Venice, did you.." Until she snapped out of it. "Aah! I ..Y-ye-yeah, I like her too." She stammered. "At least, if I win today...I dont have to duel the mean one." Venice was lucky though, she had at least one full hour before she would have to duel. She tried remembering Cleo's words of wisdom. "Its just a game, it cant hurt me." She repeated to herself, more then once.

_"Yes, I won round two as well. I am closer to my final goal"_ Rose thought, as she walked down the stage "Lets see, 1600 lifepoints." She whipped out her Rank-card and inserted it into her dueldisk. It converted her points. "_Nice, now I have enough for the third equipment spell. I need to win at least one more round, and then.." _Apparently she had one motive besides money, to enter this exclusive tournament. For Outerdeck held all the one-of-a-kind John Nelson cards in their vault, only handing it out to those that entered their contest. Some of the cards she had, like Genji Gloves, were more common. But others were very rare, which was her deck was not yet a full Baker deck. "_Well I can always buy it later. The next game should begin soon, I had better stick around to see who I have to beat next_."

Speaking of which, Cleo Caine had finally arrived at the stadium, catching the eyes of many onlookers again. Too bad for her, that the only one she was interested in seeing, was not even there. "Where the hell is my opponent?" She yelled at the judge, she did not like it when people kept her waiting. "He still has time, the duel does not begin until 1 PM." The man responded calmly, he was about the only one who did. "I thought these duelists at least cared enough to get on time. Maybe I should just do the same from now on" But then, just as she began to feel angry enough to rip her deck in half, he showed up. Stefan Kadich arrived, exactly one second before the clock struck one. "_There he is, about bloody time_." She rasped mentally. "Ah sir Kadich, did we oversleep a little?" The judge noticed that he slight bags under his eyes, and his hair was unkempt as well, normal signs for one who slept to little. "I am here to..duel." Was his only response, and the officiant saw no reason not to allow it. Then he slowly walked to the stage.

Of course, Ananka was still in the stands, she stayed to see who would face her in this divisions finals. "I assumed you would already know who wins this match. What with being a seeress and all." Colin showed up behind her, sporting the same smug attitude as always. "Sairve. Judging from your behavior, I guess you survived round two." She did not even bother to go into his remarks. "Naturally, I am the future's precious seer." He laughed. "And yet, I wonder if thats true. I saw your duel..Ananka." She turned around to meet his sudden serious expression. "I know you well enough to see that what happened there, was not a coincidence. When we dueled, you couldn't get a single Arcana right. And now even spells turn upright. It makes me wonder, if a human can cheat fate. Because that would upset me a little." The woman already expected him to accuse her of something, but she brushed it aside with a grin. "You would never understand, Sairve. Its a family secret..a diviners secret." She turned away again. "Really now?"

(To be continued in Testament 018: Secrets of the Trade)

**New Cards used by Christine Rose  
**Card Blocker

-  
_Johns Sword of Light_  
_Johns Battle Armor_  
_Genji Gloves_

-  
Draining Shield

**New Cards used by Etna Redmond  
**Volcanic Counter  
Volcanic Doomfire

-  
_Burning Vein (+)_  
_Fire Cyclone (+)_

-  
Ojama Trio  
Volcanic Recharge

_+ Both are based on cards used by Austin/Axel in season 3 of theYGO GX anime, albeit tweaked slightly_


	18. Testament 018: Tools of the Trade

Testament 018: Tools of the Trade

Stefans left eye twitched, and he muttered something to himself. "No distractions, whatever that..is.." It was too soft for anyone else to hear, not that it made him look any less like a freak. "Well where did he come from?" Someone asked. "I heard he's from Russia, or Yugoslavia or something." Another commented. They were more concentrated on him then the gothchick, which she saw as a small relief. "You called, eheh. I suppose you're the infamous Cleo Caine." He coughed. "Yeah, and you're already boring me. Do you have anything to tell me?" She folded her arms. "Oh nothing special, just a duelist from out of town, nothing abnormal. Lets just begin the duel." He activated his disk. "Well, thats about the best introduction a gamer has ever given me, maybe I won't hate you for being so slow after all." She also activated her device, and they were ready to engage. "Second duel of round two of division B, begins now!" The Judge lowered his hand, and they drew their cards

Cleo's LP: 8000 Stefans LP: 8000

"Ladies first." Stefan said. "Thank you very much." She said without much emotion, wondering how often males would reuse that same-old gentlemans routine. "Just dont start thinking that I rewards chivalry in a game." She then summoned to the field ShadowKnight Archfiend (2000/1600), the chessboard demon. "Well well, thats a better card then she started off with last time. But knowing that she does not run a Demon Chess deck, thats not saying much." Ananka said. "Do I want to know what she used last time?" Colin asked. Though his question was answered sort, off, when the goth ended her turn right after she had normal summoned her fiend. "Thats it?" He was new to the whole Caine-phenomenon. "I see. You are the type to play cards that appeal to you." Instead of playing for the strategic value. Even Cleo had to admit, holographis projections of unholy abominations were a neat feature. "We...I too, am guilty of this. I always start my duel with this card."

And then he summoned the Illusory Gentleman (1500/1600), a one-eyed jesterlike spellcaster. "The heck, thats just as bad!" The diviner shouted. "Sairve, keep your voice down." Ananka had to cover her ears, thats how loud he was. "That card? It cant beat mine." Cleo protested, but only to the sheer stupidity of such a move. "I know, but h..I can not start the duel without this card. Its your turn." She did not know what to say, she did know what to do however. "I dont care if this is supposed to be a joke, or a trick. Something about that guy ticks me off" First she had to pay 900 LP to keep the Shadowknight on the field. Then she summoned Sorcerer of the Doomed (1450/1200), to everyone else's exasperation. "Battle phase, I attack.." The Archfiend sliced through the gentleman. "Damage done by that archfiend is halved though." Stefan stated calmly. "So?" Then the sorcerer summoned black magic from his staff to throw at Stefan. "Such force, from such little things. You make miracles happen, Miss Caine."

Cleo's LP: 7100 Stefans LP: 6300

"Looked more like an easy kill to me." She then ended her turn. "You want a challenge then, yes? Let me give you one..I summon the Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700)" His power was to get a spellcounter, every time a spell was played. "First I activate Gather Your Mind. A magic card which allows me to get a second 'Gather your Mind' from my deck." Which he also activated to obtain the third version, now the Black Mage had two counters. _"He put that card in, just for the sake of spellcounters?"_ But he was not done yet. "I also activate the spell card Fusion Sage! This allows me to add the spell card, Polymerization, to his hand. Now that my mage has three counters, its effect activates. I can sacrifice it, to special summon Dark Magician from my deck." The most renowned of all spellcasters hit the field (2500/2100). "And now to combine him with Versago the Destroyer in my hand." He played Polymerization, fusing the Destroyer monster with the spellcaster to form Dark paladin, the ultimate Dragon Slayer (2900/2400).

"This is a fusion of Buster Blader and Dark Magician, except Versago is a fusion material replacement card, so it took the place of Buster Blader in this case." Then he played another spell. "Diffusion Wave Motion. This only works on level 7 or higher spellcasters. By paying 1000 LP I can let one attack all monsters on the field, and silencing their effects at the same time." The Magician raised his staff and unleashed two waves of black magic, which tore right through the Knight Archfiend and the Damned Sorcerer. Now his field had the powerhouse, and hers was empty. "I hope this is enough of a challenge for you, miracle worker Caine." He ended his turn at this point. "You sure like making it rough eh? It wont matter." Despite the fact that this guy looked like just another cocky duelist, she felt something odd about him. On a very subconscious level, she was even disturbed by him, and not a lot of guys had that skill. "Ugh, why did he have to go for me" What she did not know, was that the duelist was being controlled from a distance.

Back at the shop: Glyphs Magic Corner, the same enigmatic man that had stalked her for the last week, was watching the duel from afar, through Stefans eyes. "_Dont let me down, Caine, do not..let me down_" Now that Dark Paladin had hit the field, things looked grim for the goth girl. Mostly because there was not a single card in her deck that could match its power, not without assistance that is. 'Glyph' waited for the chance to see her get out of this situation. "My turn." She drew, and figured that right now, all she could do was stall. Even with her luck, it took time to kill the dragon slayer. "I activate the spell card, Dark Door." This way she hoped to slow down her enemy's offense, it would have worked too if it hadn't been for a certain effect. "Hmph. I discard a card from my hand." He threw away the final 'Gather your Mind', since it was of no more use to him anyway. "To negate that spells activation, and destroy it!" Cleo twitched as her continuous spell shattered. "Ugh, that thing can do that too?"

She never did try to hard to get herself acquainted with other cards abilities. "I set a monster card facedown, and end." It was not usually this annoying to duel either. "..Miss Caine, it seems not even you can keep up at all times." He drew another card. "After all, a miracle worker is still limited by her own inventory. With that deck of yours, you can not expect to be a champion." He played the spell card, Book of Taiyou. It forced a face-down monster to switch into a face-up attack position. Hers was a mere Dragon Zombie (1600/0) "Heh, that thing, only you would use it. It is funny too, if it had been an actual dragon, the Paladin would have become even stronger. Oh well." The killer of dragons readied his staff a second time, unleashing one black magic wave. It ripped away all rotting flesh, and crushed the corpse's bones. The blow took a lot of life away again, but she refused to accept that this should concern her. "I did not play all these annoying matches, just to lose in one of them!"

Cleo's LP: 3750

She drew again, and activated another spell card from her hand. "The Shallow Grave!" Yet Kadich negated that just as swiftly as the previous magic card that was played, as he discarded again. "What was the point of that, she knows she cant use spells anymore." Colin scoffed. "I dont know, I doubt that she is as tactless as everyone thinks. The other guy has to discard every time she plays a spell, so it takes a toll on him too." But in this turn, she couldn't do a thing to the magician either, she once more placed a monster facedown, leaving it at that. "I can keep this up all day, Cleo Caine, I hope you wont make this to repetetive." Dark Paladin fired black magic again, attempting to decimate her set card. The sparks flew all over the platform. "Oh." Yet something remained, that turn. "Spirit Reaper(300/200)" Her latest card was an undying zombie, the small reaper could not be slain in battle no matter how strong the enemy was. "So you managed to vary the the endresult of this battle phase."

"Okay, I had enough of you and your Paladin. You gave me a challenge, now I will return the favor." She immediately activated Mask of the Accursed, the equip spell which cursed its wearer. The masks target was of course his sole monster card. "You hate learning that much?" Naturally he cancelled it out before it could even frame the Paladins face. However she smiled when that card was discarded. "No, I just hate teachers that much, I learn my own way. Incidentally, one of the first few things I learned was to count.." She pointed at Stefans right hand, those fingers held no cards anymore. "Did you even even notice that I was depleting your hand, one card per turn?" She activated a second spell, which went off without a hitch.

"Spell card: Book of Life. This can revive one zombie-type in the grave." She ressurected the Dragon Zombie. "Says here I can also remove one monster in your cemetery from play.." She targeted the Dark Magician used for the fusion of the Paladin. "I was waiting for this card, to make my attack, this is my favorite card." And then she sacrificed both cards for the Fiendish Engine Omega (2800/2000)... which was a machine monster card. "_Her favorite...despite its name, its still a machine card. Why is it in a deck based on zombies and demons_." Sairve wondered, though at this point he should have expected it. Her deck was even crazier then this. "Ah, I can understand your liking for this card. Which is probably not based on its strength, seeing as how it is not even my Paladins equal." He smirked. The card that cost two offerings, just stood there looking awesome, yet useless. "Well then it is handy for me, that my favorite card happened to have an effect." Suddenly, Omega's attackpoints rose by a full thousand (3800/2000).

"Eh!..How did she.." The Demonic machine released steam and raised its pincers above the mage's head. "What, you dont know everything? This card can raise its attack by a thousand..at the cost of dying in the endphase" It was her only method of killing the Paladin at the moment, and she never hesitated to use it. "Die already.." Omega decapitated Stefans fusion in an instant. "Ggh, I knew you would not disappoint me, miracle worker. You live up to all of my expectations." In her endphase, her machine started to break down. "You have expectations of me? Since when." It was not normal for him or any duelist to say this. "By the way, Omega can leave behind a token in the endphase." It did so in its final moments of activity, the token was shaped like a recently scrapped motor engine (200/200).

Stefans LP: 4400

"Its true, for a long time actually." Another odd sentence, since this duel had only been determined one day ago. "... though I did not know I was looking for you, not until I saw you in action. And now we're here, together, and you truly are the one I have been looking for." He snickered creepily. "_Great, I am dealing with a pervert_." She groaned and ended her turn. "I know what you are thinking, and its not like that, Cleo Caine." Kadich drew his card again, and it was not a monster card. It was a card he could not use at all. Even with her desolated field, he could not obtain a card that would help him. Yet he was not surprised in the least. "_So now your power reaches into other people's decks as well, impressive. Maybe it is time for me to come forwards_" The man in the magic shop thought, still controlling the unfortunate duelist far away. "In this turn, I place a trap card down, I am sorry to say I cant do anything else...because of you." His turn was over. "Oh yeah, blame me, not yourself or anything." She rasped, and drew.

"_Of course the card she will get, will be a monster card_" Stefans theory was proven when she drew and normal summoned the monster card, Molten Zombie (1600/400), which wasn't even a zombie. "Can I help it that my deck seems to like me, and yours seems to hate you." He received dark flames for a direct attack, knocking him below her lifepoints. And yet he was still smiling, laughing. "Whats so funny now?" She finished her turn. "Oh, this all. I am not blaming you my dear, I am just happy that I found someone like you, at last. I knew you would get that monster card, just like I knew you would beat Dark Paladin." He cackled. "I will regret asking this...and just why do you know all these things?" She said. He turned to face her, with the most intense eyes she had ever seen. "Because I know your little secret, I know what makes your dueling heart tick." And for the first time since, she could not even remember, Cleo was shocked.

Stefans LP: 2800

"You..you mean that thing." She went from a stressed expression to an angered and curious one. "You should call it something better then just 'a thing', Cleo Caine. You would not be here without it." This man knew too much, because she sure as hell had not been debating about it to anyone herself. "How do you know?" She asked carefully, still not willing to be to be discrete about it. "Heh, one finds another with ease, I was drawn to you." Stefans voice started to sound more and more like someone elses, and she was the only to notice. But still she could not figure out what was going on, despite her mysterious gift, she was not used to such bizarre situations. "I dont know which it is, but I am certain you have one of the seven. For you see...I have one as well." At the same time, the enigmatic Glyph, still seated in his own ship, stroked his magical item. It was a staff, which allowed him to remote control Kadich, and talk through him as well. A golden rod with the eye of Ra, a Millenium Item.

(To be continued in Testament 019: Stalker)

**New Cards used by Cleo  
**Shadowknight Archfiend  
Sorcerer of the Doomed  
Dragon Zombie  
Fiendish Engine Omega  
Molten Zombie

-  
Mask of the Accursed

**Cards used by Stefan/Glyph  
**Illusory Gentleman  
Skilled Dark Magician  
Dark Magician  
Versago the Destroyer  
Dark Paladin

-  
Gather Your Mind  
Fusion Sage  
Polymerization  
Diffusion Wave Motion  
Book of Taiyou


	19. Testament 019: Stalker

Testament 019: Stalker

"There you are sir Carter, right on time as usual." The judge greeted Will as he entered the stadium. His duel was one of the last this day, and Edgar had been waiting for him for about ten minutes. Not that he looked particulalry impatient, sitting down on the platform, listening to whatever was on his MP3 player. "Of course, would not miss it. Unlike others." This applied to Nero apparently, who had practically been scared off by Neds stories.. "_Hnn, at least my other fan is here_" He noticed Nicolai in the stands, giving William a very odd glare. He had set up some strange form of laptop/audio combo. "Eh well, its not productive to be bothered by him" He turned to Diamond. "Yo, I think they want us to duel now." He yelled, and the opponent smirked. "That was understood already. Lets do this then." He stood up, brushed off his hat, and placed it on his head. "You can go first, Ed. After all, you had to wait more then I did." Plus he wanted to see more of his Gladiators. "How gracious of you."

At that time, Ned was found by someone else, interested in the duel. "What..are you doing, Nicolai." Venice said softly. "Ms Gray.. You're here already?" He took this as a sign, that she had won her duel against Rudy Schneider, but he did not comment on that. "I am doing something pertinent to the trespasser matter. Dont touch any of this...'as some would call it, stuff." He pointed at his laptop, which was hooked up to all kinds of strange transmitters and receivers. "But..what is it?" She asked again. "Its complicated. Lets just say that I am trying to flush out external signals in the stadiums online system. I have good reason to suspect duelists here of illegal actions, cheating would be one of them. This thing is like a cheater-detector." He smirked. "Oh." She sat down and watched.

Meanwhile at Stadium B...

"One as well, one of what?" Cleo asked him. "One should not feign ignorance, when their interrogator already knows so much, Cleo Caine." Glyph replied, both his voice and Kadichs voice were speaking in unison. "Well thats easy for you to say, how the hell am I supposed to know what you have? I am not even sure what I have, seventh of what?." She yelled back. It was then that she noticed that the audience was oddly unresponsive. As if none of them could hear her or him. "You honestly dont know, do you?" The man chuckled. "That is amusing, you have the power, yet you never tried to understand." She got annoyed again. "Gah, just continue the duel already. Whatever you want to tell me about this thing, I don't need to hear it." All she knew was that it helped her in her duels, ever since she got the 'item', she never failed to reach the finals of any tournament she visited, she always won. "If that is your wish, though I will inform you of my own wishes, Cleo Caine. I desire it as well, and I will get it.."

At that point the dark opressive aura that floated in the air, was lifted just like that. She could hear the crowd clearly again, and vice versa. "What is she so worked up about?" Colin wondered. From his point of view, the goth was just randomly gesturing at no one. "Not something..regular" Ananka commented, she knew little more. "Well, then, we left off at my turn, didn't we?" Kadichs voice returned to its normal, exhausted tone. "Draw." He looked at his hand, and smirked. "I summon the Mythical Beast Cerberus (1400/1400). This card gains 500 attackpoints every time I give it a spellcounter. So while it is weaker then your zombie, its only a temporary setback, for I activate this card!" He played his trap, Pitchblack Power Stone, and three spellcounters were equiped on the stone pedestal."This is a spellcounter generator, once per turn I can shift one of three to another host." The first counter switched to the Cerberus, strengthening it(1900/1400). "It attacks your Molten Zombie, and kills it!" The beast chewed through lava and flames.

Cleo's LP: 3450

"My turn." She was about to draw, when she hesitated. "One of them, huh, so do you have the same 'luck', that I have?" It did not seem like it. "Heh, if that were true, I would not long for yours." Glyph tapped his Millenium Item. "No my dear, my item has a whole other ability. Lets just say that appearances can deceive." He would not tell her about his Rod yet though, not until he was sure which of the seven she possessed. "...draw." And once again, fate gave her a hand, as she drew something that could slay the wolf in front of her. "I still have this Motor-token, which I can sacrifice." He had to admit, he forgot about that scrapheap, which was soon sacrificed for the Jackal fiend "End of Anubis (2500/0). This card seals off the graveyard, stopping anything from coming out" The godbeast howled and tore through the depowered Cerberus (1400/1400) with its black talons. . "Yes thats the power I crave, to get whatever you need, whenever you need it. Some might even say I deserve it more then you."

Stefans LP: 1700

"Let us see what I can draw this turn." He picked up a spell card from the top of his deck. "First I play the spell card, Saints Patience. I can send five spells from my graveyard, to my deck, to draw two cards from my hand" Basically it was the spell version of Pot of Avarice, and his spell-heavy deck could use it with ease. He drew two new cards. "Then I activate this, Dark Magic Curtain! I can pay half my lifepoints.. " A curtain carried by a skull showed up behind Kadich. "...to summon 'him'. You killed one of my magicians, but here comes number two." Dark Magician (2500/2100) leaped from the curtains. Yet his power was merely equal to Anubis's. "Knowing your skills, you would just draw another monster card next turn, and end it all. I shall not pass this battle phase." The Mage raised his staff and fired at the Jackal, while the fiend extended both claws around the wizards neck. They murdered each other in a burst of black mana. "Then I set a trap card and end my turn."She just shrugged. "Your funeral."

Stefans LP: 850

_Saints Patience, Normal Spell  
__Select 5 normal spell cards from your graveyard, then add them to your deck and shuffle it. After that, draw 2 cards._

Her turn came, she placed a trap and... "I will just have to summon this I guess. Chaos Necromancer." She called out what appeared to be a weak skeleton imp (0/0). But the duelists knew its powers well, the Necromancer increased its points by 300 for every monster in her grave. Sorcerer, Archfiend, Dragon, Reaper, Molten Zombie, Anubis and Omega, there were seven monsters in his necromantic strings (2100/0). "Ah Necromancers, that takes me back. Alas, I fear you can not touch me with that. Because." he flipped his trap card, Miracle Restoring. "Now that Anubis is gone, I can do this. This cards wont work without two spell counters. But if I do have that amount, I can revive my Dark Magician!" He destroyed the Pitchblack Stone, and used its last counters to restore his mage (2500/2100). "Ugh..triple deja vu."

Then Glyph/Stefan entered his turn, and his next card was a monster card, Hannibal Necromancer (1400/1800). "_I wonder, did her special item, give me this card, or is this my own fortune? I simply have to test it_ I summon my own boneyard sorcerer, Hannibal Necromancer (1400/1800)." A skeletal beast showed up besides the Magician. "Its time for a united siege, in which my spellcaster leads!" Dark Magician aimed the staff at Caine. "It was about time you made a mistake." She rasped in response, flipping her trap. "Dark Spirit of the Silent" It was outdated like half of her deck. "Oh!" A gruesome wraith screeched, all its way into the Magicians body, halting his movements. After that, he left the body and entered Hannibals. "I negated your attack, and force another." The two necromancers were coerced into battle, by the silent ghost. "Guess which one is victorious." One Necromancer was to weak to stand up to the other, Hannibal was robbed of its life. "Wonderful, I have seen enough."

Stefans LP: 150

Stefan was oddly laughing, and his hand moved for the deck. "Hey hey. Don't tell me you want to quit now." She was to enraged at this fellow to let it end like that. "Sorry, my miracle worker. We will meet again another day." Stefan turned to the judge. "I surrender this duel." His hand was placed on his deck. He had been unaware of the discussions that 'Glyph' and Cleo had conducted, so he was caugh off-guard when this happened. "Eh? Of course" He turned to the audience. "Stefan forfeits! The winner is, Cleo Caine!" And they were not that thrilled by her second victory, allthough some started to enjoy her tactics.

Stefans LP: 0

"I cant believe she is your next opponent, heh, what a drag eh Ananka?" Colin laughed. "...I dont think it will be that easy." She sensed something was wrong, she sensed it the entire game. "Well...ta." He winked at the goth, and passed out just as quickly, Glyph left his body at last. "Huh?" This was something the judge also did not expect. "Oh my, he must have finally given into his fatigue, he did look rather tired." He sighed, calling for a nurse, leaving some puzzled as to why this place even had nurses. Cleo was silent the entire time, and this time it was not because of apathy, but confusion. She looked at her deck, and her next card. It was the spell card Mind Control, which she could have played to win the duel, legally. "_Great, now I will have to accept that this bloody thing is enchanted_." She pulled out a small trinket from her dress, it was a golden ring, which was to big to fit around her finger. It missed Ra's eye symbol, or even any form of jewel on top, but she knew that this was what granted her all these victories. And that guy, whoever he was, wanted it. "_Why couldn't this have been a simple tournament? Why of all duelists in the world, do I meet someone who knows about this ring. Ugh, I am just glad I dont have to duel him again_"

At the same time, Glyph collapsed back into his seat panting. "_That costed me more then I would have liked_." The stalkers face was odder then usual, his hair was grey and stringy, while his face had the marks of age all over. "_It seems that using this item for an extended period of time, exhausts more of my mana, then I can share. I still have not mastered it_" He grunted, still holding the Millenium Rod. He was pleased to find out that the goth girl did indeed carry one of the items, but he still did not know which it was. "_I can not overcome the weakness of each item, until I have all seven of them_." He said to himself, while getting up. "But before I confront you face to face, my miracle worker, I will have to regain my strength." He then placed a 'closed' sign on his desk, shutting down his street magician shop. "_Its time to feed, eheheh_." He licked his lips, and placed the rod inside his suitcase. Then he walked into the town, ready to rejuvenate his mana, with the unwilling aid of the towns local idiots.

(To be continued in Testament 020: Thumbs Up)

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine  
**End of Anubis  
Chaos Necromancer

-  
Mind Control

-  
Dark Spirit of the Silent

**New Cards used by Stefan/Glyph  
**Mythical Beast Cerberus  
Hannibal Necromancer

_-  
Saints Patience_  
Dark Magic Curtain

-  
Pitchblack Power Stone  
Miracle Restoring


	20. Testament 020: Thumbs Up

Testament 020: Thumbs Up

Edgars LP: 8000 Carters LP: 8000

The duel started, and the crowd was restless, moreso then usual. "Draw cards." He drew six cards, while William drew five. "In the first, this card goes facedown. That is all." It was not that exciting an opening move, but Will expected things to get worse if he tried to kill whatever was set down. "_Well, its not like I can do anything else, not with this hand_." He then summoned the Angel of wisdom - Harvest (1800/1000) to the field, and opened his offense. The hornblowing angel cut through a half-ape, half machine creature (700/300). "You attacked the facedown card, Test Ape. When it is destroyed, a Gladiator will take its place!" From his deck, Diamond summoned the monster. "gladiator Beast Laquari (1800/1400)." It wan an armored tiger of teh fire element. "I see, a deck summoner, I have had my share of those. I activate Sanctuary in the Sky." He placed the dueling field under the protective light of the Sanctum. "With this field, any angel-type that gets injured does not transfer the damage to its masters lifepoints." He ended his turn.

"This will disappoint you, the equipment spell card Gladius!" He gave Laquari a short sword, which boosted his strength by 300 points (2100/1400) "Huh? An equipment card that bonly boosts 300 points?" Carter did not see the convenience in that, though it did cause him to lose the advantage. "Also, here is another gladiator Beast, a second Laquari(1800/1400). They both attack your monster and you, of course." The two flaming tigers charged forward, one stabbed Harvest with his Combat Weapon, while the other pummeled William with fire rockets. "_Okay I can understand the sword, but fire missiles! How are those roman-based?" _Because of his field spell, he did not lose lifepoints when Harvest was destroyed, but that was about to change.. "I guess now you use their effect. I know that Gladiator Beasts return to the deck at the end of battle, and call out new allies instead." Diamond nodded. "You saw the previous duel then. That is true." Both tigers returned to his deck, or rather, the bench.

Carters LP: 6200

Instead he summoned a earth-elemental Bull warrior (1600/1200) and a wind elemental Bird Warrior (1500/800) from his deck. "As you also know Gladiators only get their effect when summoned out by another. The first Gladiator, Dimacari, will strike twice in one round. The second, Bestiari, has the special effect to destroy a spell or trap when its summoned from the deck." He explained, as the bird sent out a small windgust to shatter the airbound sanctuary. "Also, a Gladiators weapon returns to the arsenal, when its controller retreats, therefor." He added the Gladius spell back to his hand, and equiped it on Dimacari instead (1900/1200). "You seem to have everything in a neat order. By the way, do you ever take out those phones?" Carter saw that he never did turn off his music. "One cant duel without proper ambience, dont worry, your voice is still heard...and now its your turn." Will just moaned and drew again. "_I can not defeat those two, so I will defend_." He placed one of his monsters facedown and ended. "Your turns are rather short."

"Its rather pointless to defend. Remember, Dimacari will strike twice in one round." The bull warrior raised his fist and his Gladius, and jumped right on the facedown monster, crushing it under his weight. It was a Nova Summoner (1400/800) "Well, my card also has a decksummoning effect, like this!" He special summoned a second Nova Summoner (1400/800) in defense mode. "Ah, you used that monster in the first round too.." It and the third version which was called as well, were promptly executed by Dimacari's second strike and Bestiari. "But I can still summon monsters besides Nova Summoner, all it needs to be is a fairy and weaker then your Bestiari." He called out a Radiant Jeral (1000/2000) in defense mode. He hoped to use it for a tribute summon next turn. "You forced their hand." Diamond retracted his army again, and summoned two new Gladiators, the lizardbeast Secutor (400/300) and a fish beast (800/400). "The latter is called Murmillo, he destroys a monster if it is summoned by another gladiator beast..." And true to form, the aquatic gladiator drowned Prometheus into a vortex of water. Setting Carter back where he started. "I equip Secutor with Gladius (700/300). This ends my turn"

Carters LP: 5700

During this moment of short silence, Carter heard that the crowd was starting to cheer for Edgar. "For your sake, you had better put up some show soon, Carter. Otherwise its impossible to win the crowd over, not with your reputation." Diamond said to him, as he ended his turn. Yet what he said agitated the duelist. "Whats that supposed to mean, exactly?" He asked the man. "Nothing really, they just seek a scapegoat thats all. You did hear about the rumors, yes?" Will cringed. "Of course I did, but worrying about it wont do anyone good. Do not tell me you suspect me too." He knew his connection with his brother would get him in trouble, just not this much. "Well, first Dieter was a main suspect, but since he lost already, you are the perfect target."

"_Dieter, am I compared to him now? Oh I wont stand that.. _I summon a Shining Angel (1400/800)! And then I activate a continous spell card: Yin and Yang! Its effect is thus. When I have a light monster on the field, I can summon a dark monster from my hand!" And he called out, Mefist the infernal General (1800/1700), a demon with piercing ability. "I dont know much, but I can tell you this Edgar, I am not the trespasser. If the crowd wants a good show..." Mefist then cut down Secutor with its 300 defense points, inflicting 1500 damage to his master. "Hm." Diamond was forced to discard a card from his hand due to the effect of Mefist. "If thats what is deemed productive, they will get one." And Murmillo was destroyed by the Shining Angel. "Thats better, William Carter." He smiled, this impressed him enough to take out one earphone plug.

Edgars LP: 6500

_Yin and Yang, Continuous Spell  
__As long as this card is face-up on the field, once during your turn you can:__  
- Special summon a dark-type monster from your hand to the field, if a light-type monster is on your side of the field.  
- Special summon a light-type monster from your hand to the field, if a dark-type monster is on your side of the field.  
Remove this card from play after you summon the third monster with this card effect._

"Well I realize that many want to see me lose, though I wonder how I got labeled as a trespasser. That information was not that wide-spread when I entered." He would not put it passed Ned to leak out that knowledge online. Nicolai meanwhile was still to occupied with his equipment to notice anything. "Yes the crowd is moderately upset. Perhaps a better stage would please them. Field spell card: Cage of the Gladiator Beasts - Colossus." Edgar tranformed the field into an arena from the Roman Era. This field would boost its warriors powers, but not as of yet. "You managed to destroy three Gladiators so far, including the only Murmillo." He made a mental note to include more of those later on. "For now the rest will adopt a defensive strategy." In his turn he placed a monster card facedown as well, and ended his turn. "Ah, such a nice field this is. Too bad I dont want to stay around and see what it does. Activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" Carter activated his quickplay spell card, he wanted to blow away the Cage.

"Wait..." Yet instead it was the Tornado which withered, and the arena unharmed. "You tried to destroy the field, however its destruction can be averted by discarding another..." He tossed a second Colloseum spell in his hand away, to save his first. "Hm, you kept two of the same field cards in your hand all this time, just in case I tried to destroy it?" Diamond nodded. "Okay then. Guess I will just charge head on! I re-activate the effect of Yin Yang to special summon the Airknight Parsath from my hand." A centaur-angel knight (1900/1400) showed up. "This is a piercer as well, except this one allows me to draw every time it does damage." The angel attacked Edgars monster. "You attacked Hoplomus, the earthen rhinoceros (700/2100). His defense is greater then your offense." The Rhino pushed back Mefist. "Also, the effect of the gladiators works in both turns. So.." Edgar switched out Hoplomus, for a mighty dinosaur warrior, Spartacus (2200/600) "And now the Cage reveals its powers." The field started to glow.

Carters LP: 6000

Every time a card is summoned from my deck, a counter is added. For every counter, the beasts gain 100 attackpoints." Spartacus roared to celebrate his new strength (2300/600). Carter cursed mentally and switched his other monsters to defense mode. "Also, Spartacus can add another Gladiator Battle Weapon to his masters hand, when he is summoned this way." The duelist added a equip card, Manica, to his hand, but he did not equip it yet. "Spartacus, make sure Mefist dines in hell tonight." Strangely, the dinosaur killed a defending monster, so the duelist did not lose lifepoints. The generals dark axe was overpowered by the dinosaurs bigger axe, and he was slain along with his weapon and horse. "Its only begun, the true terror of the gladiators. Spartacus returns to the deck, and Secutor (600/300) takes his position once more." It was summoned to the field in defense position. "This time he takes the weapon." The little critter armed himself with the Manica shoulderguard spell, but there was no change in his stats.

_"Thats the second time he tries this. And he doesnt want me to discard cards from his hand. Whatever it does, whatever he is up too, it has to be big_." He drew and entered the battle phase. Parsath attacks!" The angel stabbed Secutor, inflicting 1600 piercing damage. Unfortunately for Carter, Combat Weapon - Manica now showed its hidden powers. "It did not die?" Secutor pushed the sword out of its body. "A gladiator can use Manica, to negate destruction at the hands of others on the battlefield." Ergo, it would not be destroyed in battle. "Damn it, you have an answer to everything." And then suddenlty Secutors effect activated. "When a special summoned Secutor survives a battle phase, he can summon two new gladiators." The lizardbeast chuckled as he opened his shouldercannons, from both barrels came two new Gladiator Beasts: Gladiator Beast Andal (2300/1500) and a second Laquari (2200/400). Four Gladiators were summoned from the deck now, so four counters were on the field spell, a boost of 400 attack points.

Edgars LP: 4900

"Draw." It was Edgars turn, Carter could not do anything else. "Normal summon Dimacari (2000/1200). Quadruple attack." Then came a brutal offense. The Bull plowed down the Shining Angel, The Bear Andal slashed through Parsath, and Secutor (800/300) and Laquari did a direct attack on Williams lifepoints. All in all he lost 3400 lifepoints. "And you havent seen the strongest yet." He entered main phase 2 "Automatic fusion?" Three of the gladiators started to glow, he sent them back into his deck at once. "They can do that as well, oh boy..." Laquari was the prime catalyst, he merged with Secutor and Andal to form a goldplated, scimitar wielding tigerhumanoid. "Gladiator Fusion Beast - Heraklinos (3400/2800)." Since Secutor was returned to the deck, manica came back in Edgars hand. He equipped it Heraklinos immediately, making it immune to death by battle as well. "Your move." Carter needed an edge quick, especially to get the audience to stay calm. Him losing life only made them louder.

Carters LP: 2600

"My turn. I activate the spell card, Celestial Transformation. This summons an angel from my hand, and eh..ehr..hey!" Yet again it failed right before his eyes. He saw that Edgar had discarded another card from his hand. "Oh come on, I did not even target your field." But the man shook his head in amusement. "No, not that, its Heraklinos." Will saw how the residual energy from his magic card, was drained into the beasts shield. "He can negate a spell or trap, for the cost of a discard." Will in response, placed a monster facedown, bemoaning his bad luck. "The verdict has come, Carter. Dimacari attacks your set and Heraklinos finishes it." The bull punched wills facedown. However he apparently liked to repeat past experiments. "Black Hole Summoner(1400/800)!" It was a demon, a summoner that would do the same trick that the Nova had done. It replaced itself with another (1400/800). "How annoying." Heraklinos growled and used its spear to run the second Black Hole through. The third was his final defense.

_Black Hole Summoner 4/1400/800 Dark/Fiend  
When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, you can special summon 1 dark fiend-type monster with 1500 atk or less from the deck. If Pandemonium is on the field, you can special summon any type of Archfiend from your deck instead._

"Regardless, Dimacari retreats. He is replaced by the six-star winged Lion gladiator, Alexander (2900/600)" The Colosseum gained another counter, boosting Heraklinos too (3500/2800). He placed a card facedown and ended his turn. "Thats fine with me, I have what I need" He entered his turn. "Your fusion monster can negate spells, but.." He activated Yin Yang for the third time, causing it to be removed from play. "This spell does not activate, so you cant chain." He called out an angel since he had a demon on the field. "You seem hung up on Roman cards, then its fair game for me to summon a related card, Splendid Venus." A divine light illuminated the roman dungeon, the clouds themselves seemed to part open to allow the angels descent. "Venus(2800/2400), the goddess of love? Interesting, very interesting Carter."

Edgar seemed pleased to face her with his gladiators. "In fact, one co..AhhH!"

He wanted to say more, evidently, but a sudden yell of pain stopped him. "Huh, whats wrong?" William wondered why he screamed, but the judge stared at him, silently telling him to stand still. "It's nothing, volume malfunction." He took out both earphones and shut off the MP3 player, and everything seemed normal again. Until Ned Zoro released almost the exact same scream from his seat in the stands. "What?" Both players turned around, and saw him fumbling with his devices. His laptop had shut down, right before it sent out an incredibly loud error signal. "Gah! Damn thing, I finally find an illegal connection, and it short circuits. I didnt even get to ...find ...hold on." But someone else heard the same error sound, through his MP3 player. "Thats..its him!" And while neither duelist knew what Ned had been up too, further context wasn't necessary. "Hey..Ed...is he saying what I think he is saying?"

Meanwhile in the darkest corners of the city, a citizen had fallen pray to certain magical found a suitable target, a young woman, and struck with his millenium rod. "Uhn." The woman fainted, as she looked into the eye of Ra, which was all that she saw in the shadows. Particles of energy, magical energy, flowed from her body to Glyphs. "Ahh...that hits the spot." He sighed, as he refilled his mana. From time to time, he needed to leech from other souls, just to empower his own. Over the years he had used many enchanted objects, collected hundreds of them, but he needed more, always more. His face was less wrinkled now, and his hair less decayed. However he was still visibly aged, a mark he would never be rid off. "My my, time as teeth indeed." Suddenly a person adressed the soul vampire, from a nearby shadow."What, who goes there?" Glyphs first reaction was to aim his Millenium Rod at the stranger. "Calm down, sir, I am not your foe. In fact, I wish to...aid you, in your quest for the seven."

(To be continued in Testament 021: Dishonored Gladiators)

**New Cards used by William Carter  
**Radiant Jeral  
Mefist, the Infernal General  
Airknight Parsath  
_Black Hole Summoner_  
The Splendid Venus

-  
Sanctuary in the Sky  
_Yin and Yang_  
Celestial Transformation

**New Cards used by Edgar Diamond**  
Test Ape  
Gladiator Beast Laquari  
Gladiator Beast Dimacari  
Gladiator Beast Bestiari  
Gladiator Beast Murmillo  
Gladiator Beast Secutor  
Gladiator Beast Andal  
Gladiator Beast Heraklinos  
Gladiator Beast Alexander

-  
Gladiator Beasts Battle Gladius  
Cage of the Gladiator Beasts - Colloseum  
Gladiator Beasts Battle Manica


	21. Testament 021: Dishonored Gladiators

Testament 021: Dishonored Gladiators

"Who, or what are you?" Glyph asked the shadow. "You do not know? Your senses must be more dulled then I thought." It responded with a chuckle. "I am what you desire. You're so tuned in on Cleo Caine, that you can not even feel the others near her." Now he figured out what he was getting at. 'You insinuate, that you possess one of these as well." He showed his millenium rod. "Not like that, allthough it does interest me. But there are those like Cleo, at this tournament. You must have sensed some." He did remember getting an odd signal from stage B, before he sent Stefan to duel. It was most definitely not the goth who sent it. "So you know about the seven, how? From the looks of things, you're just a kid, another one of them duelists that roam these streets." The stranger chuckled. "Ah, so you do recognize me...at least feintly."

Glyph was no longer amused, and raised his rod. "I do not intend to be toyed with, since I hold the weapon here. Either you tell me what you want, or I will force it out of you." The Eye began to shimmer. "Relax old man, I am your friend, don't make it say three times." He was not too impressed. "I want to help you, to help you see what I can see. Two minds can work faster then one, and together we can locate all your 'miracle workers', eheheh." Glyph lowered the item, but he was still cautious. "Then whats in it for you?" He asked carefully. "I want your rods power. At least, a part of it. You can send yourself into other bodies, and I desire that skill. Share it with me, and in return I will give you Cleo and everyone else. What do you say?" The old man had to think it over, should he agree, or dispose of this fellow?

Back at the duel, the situation had been dealt with before anyone could say anything else. Though only Carter seemed to be responding to the whole situation. Edgar gave a quick glare to a nearby officiant in the stands, who nodded back. "Excuse me sir." He in turn approached Ned and all his gadgetry. "I will have to confiscate your equipment, we have reason to believe that you are disruptive to the dueling process." And before Ned or Venice could protest, he took the laptop and everything else. "Wait, you cant do this! That guy..he is..he." He tried to explain what he heard, but the man ignored him completely and left Zoro behind, dazed and confused. "Nico..Nicolai..whats wrong?" A nervous ms Gray asked him, but he just grunted and ran down the stairs. "What a situation. Wouldn't you say?"" Diamond sighed a breath of relief once it was all over. But Will was less forgiving. "Ned does not freak out for no reason, and neither do any regular MP3 players screech like that. You wouldn't happen to be using that device to cheat somehow, would you?"

It was possible that his device was connected to someone else, who told him what cards were in his hands, it could explain why he was always one step behind his opponent. "Are you implying that someone is looking at your cards, Carter? Thats not likely, the platform is designed to prevent anyone in the audience to see people's hands. Only the judges and duelists can follow that." He shook his head. "Nope, its only your bad luck which works against you, a gladiator plays fair." Carter of course did not believe him. "Well lets just proceed with the duel. You just summoned the Splendid Venus (2800/2400), but that one is actually weaker then Heraklinos and Alexander." He smiled. "But, Venus has a special power, Ed. Any nonangel-type on the field loses 500 attackpoints as long as she is on the field." The two beasts decreased in offense (Alexander: 2400/1100, Heraklinos: 3000/2800). "The Lion warrior is weaker now, so I declare an attack." Venus unleashed a stream of feathers which reduced Alexander to dust.

Edgars LP: 6100

"It took you long enough to actually do damage again." Edgar laughed, but Will was not in the mood for that. He placed a trap and ended his turn. "And isn't it foolish to summon something that will end up dead next round?" Heraklinos (3000/3300) was still her superior, despite the powerseal she had placed on the field. And even if he did intend to overpower the fusion, he still had the equip spell Manica to prevent battle destruction. "Kill her, Heraklinos!" The lioncomposite warrior raised his fist. "Trap card, Malevolent Catastrophe!" When Will chained with the disastrous trap, which destroyed all spells and traps on the field. "This card will not only destroy the Dungeon and its counters which powers up your fusion monster, but it will also remove Battle Manica spell, so it can be destroyed by Venus!" But Edgar chained with his monsters effect. "Funny! Did you forget that Heraklinos can negate traps and spells as long as I discard cards?" He was certain this had worked, and the attack continued. However Venus released two beams of energy. One ripped through the effect negating shield of the Gladiator. "!" The other pierced his monster directly. And the unholy storm destroyed the Colloseum.

Edgars LP: 5800

"Oh yeah, forgot to mention, Venus dominates the field in both strength and magic. As long as she is on the field, you can not negate any effects I play." So Diamond could not counter the trap and Heraklinos died at last. "Powerful." He placed a trap card down, and finished his round. "Direct attack." And the other wasted no time, and immediately hit the duelist with a barrage of feathers. "I guess your trap is just a bluff." He wondered if he could see his hand still, because the only card in it right now was Radiant Mirror Force, which he placed facedown. "Its not a bluff, Carter, not completely."

Edgars LP: 3000

"And you did not seem receptive to random trivia earlier, but maybe this will touch a nerve. I special summon a Gladiator Beast, by removing two from my graveyard." He removed Heraklinos and Alexander. "Leonidas." And before Venus now stood about the manliest beastwarrior to be ever known in existance. A lion armed with nothing but a helmet, cape, spear and shield, with the greek letter Labda on it (0/0). "This card gains 300 attackpoints for every Gladiator in the deck." The computer counted his cards, and came up with 10 cards. "That would make it 3000, but Venus would reduce his power by 500 still." Carter claimed. "And thats why this spell will come in handy." He played his facedown card, which was a bluff after all. "Gladiators Return, the user can send three beasts back into his deck, and draw one card." The audience gasped, now there were 13 gladiators in his deck. "Leonidas (3400/0) attacks." He increased his attackpoints and impaled Venus in the head with his spear.

Carters LP: 2000

_Gladial Beast - Leonidas 3/0/0 Earth/Beastwarrior  
This card can not be normal summoned or set, this card can only be special summoned by removing two 'Gladiator Beast' cards in your cemetery from play. During the battle phase, increase this cards attackpoints by 300 for every 'Gladiator Beast' in your deck. When this card does battle you can send shuffle it back into your deck at the end of the battle phase to special summon another 'Gladiator Beast' monster card from your deck to your side of the field._

Then as the battle phase ended, his attack decreased once more (0/0). "Then during my endphase, Leonidas returns to the deck, and instead he summons Murmillo to the field." The fish gladiator returned from the bench, having been sent back by the Return spell. Ït destroys your Black Hole Summoner, leaving you defenseless." Then Ed placed the card he drew through Gladial Return, facedown, and finished his turn. "_Well, where did that come from?" _But he too had a special last option. "Two can play that game, I play this card! Sky Scourge Norleras!" Diamond raised an eyebrow, that monster was one of the strongest in the game. A fiend covered in black chains, and with one eye covered, just like Enrise. "I remove three Black Hole summoners and one Nova Summoner to special summon it(2400/1500). Its effect allows me to pay 1000 LP and destroy all cards on the field!" Anything that was less dramatic would not work against this guy. However even the dramatic acts were without merit.

Carters LP: 1000

"Counter trap card: Gladiator Beast War Chariot" Norleras was about to unleash devastation on the whole field, when a chariot appeared. "This counter negates the effect of a monster..and kills it." Murmillo stepped into the carriage and raced towards the Scourge, crushing it under its wheels. "Craaaaap" Everything he did ended with failure. "This trap is all I have left." He placed another card facedown. "Your turn." The chariot disappeared again. "Draw." He looked at his hand and smirked. "When a Gladiator is on the field, this card can be special summoned." He called a wild tiger (600/300) to the field. "Test Tiger. Its second effect triggers when it is sacrificed, it can send Murmillo back into the deck." The tiger roared and chased the Fish fighter away, after which it left the field itself. "In return a new Gladiator will show up, with its effect. Octavius." He called out the strongest of the nonfusion Gladiators, the emperor eagle (2500/1200). "Its effect is to destroy one facedown card upon its arrival." There were two choices.

Carter gulped, he hoped he would pick the wrong one. Edgar surveyed his options. "Left." And gave a thumbs down to the left trap, Radiant Mirror Force shattered. "Now for the killing stroke. Octavius, take this card from the arsenal!" He equiped him with the third weapon, the Battle Halberd. "Battle phase, direct attack!" But then William activated his second trap. "Continuous Trap card Aegis of Gaia!" He was lucky, the spared trap would boost his lifeforce by 3000 points, so Octavius's 2500 attackpoints could only reduce him to 500. He took the hit with a grin. "Go William." Venice cheered softly, she was but one of few. "Your life is back at full huh. Sorry, Will, that too was prepared for." Without warning, Aegis of Gaia was stabbed by the Halberd. "No!" Without it, his life boost would dissapear, he would drop to negative LP. "Halberds special effect destroys a spell or trap when its master inflicts battle damage." That meant, the duel was over, and William Carter did not win it. "The winner is, Edgar Diamond."

Carters LP: 0

The judge yelled triumphantly, never knowing why the two players were so upset a few rounds ago. "I lost to him?" Carter did not know what to think. "What did I miss?" At that time, Nero rejoined the audience, barely missing the finale of the second round. "Jacobus...where..were you?" Venice asked him. "I was ..looking through things." He could not tell her, that he was suspected of being here on false grounds. "So, who won?" He asked again. "..Sir Diamond did." She sighed. "Oh, oh no." He looked at the platform, and saw his friend still standing there. "Dammit, why did he have to lose before me!"

Edgar meanwhile walked away from the stadium, but he met a furious kid along the way. "Light Bribe, eh? I'd say that last trap you played suits you." Ned grumbled. "You again, havent you bothered people enough today?" Ed tried to send him off with a sneering remark, but Zoro was persistant. "Tell me, how much did they pay you. I know its you, I heard it." Before the computer died on him, and all his stuff was confiscated, he heard another mans voice, talking to him about cards, and about... "You heard nothing, and you know nothing. These baseless accusations will only trouble you in the end. Good day sir." He finally pushed him aside, in return he received one last question. "Then whats Tu'maga Inc? I heard that name mentioned too." And he paused, Edgar was actually surprised that he said 'that name'. "Heh, if you're so clever, you can figure it out yourself, google it or something." He said, knowing full well that Ned no longer had internet access. "Bye." He was gone at last. "_Well, this may be a lead after all."_

Round two was at its end, and of course half of that day's duelists had been denied their hopes at reaching the championships title. Among the winners were Colin, Ananka, Cleo, Venice, Christine, Nero and Edgar. It was strange to see that most of the winners had strange unique decks, Gladiators, Arcana Forces and the John Baker series. It was either that or unusual strategies like Dora of Fate, and Cleo's haphazard style. In any case, the losers racked up their ultimate dueling points and set off to make a quick buck. Not everybody was as happy with their defeat and/or victory however. Nero had to duel Diamond next, instead of Carter, who he would have enjoyed a game with more. Carter was one of the 'losers', and two of the winners were there to cheer him up, namely Venice and Nero. "I am sorry I wasn't there Will."

He was apologizing for the fact that he missed his entire duel. His own fears were actually sedated, when he heard that Edgar was possibly the actual trespasser, or at the very least a cheater. "You wouldn't have made a difference, Nero. I lost to him, because of him." He sighed and looked at the score on his disk. "Ah well, better for someone like me to lose, then you. I still have some DP left from last night." He was getting hungry again. "You can not let it end like this, can you? I mean, he did not play fair, you should tell the judges." Venice objected. "But I cant prove anything, I dont even know what Ned knows. And if he is indeed the trespasser, the judges could very well be in league with him. The only way to beat him, is to ..." Before he could finish, a friend showed up as if he timed this encounter.

"Ned?" The two men gasped.

"Nero...William..I believe I owe you an apology." He bowed. "What?" They replied with confused looks. "I falsely accused you two of being here under illegal means. When it was Edgar who was my target all along, I did not intend to cause this misunderstanding." he sounded serious about it too. "Thats good to hear." Venice smiled. "Yes it is, though technically you cant entirely discard one hypothesis when another arises. Who says there cant be 'two' trespassers?" William chuckled. "Dont joke about that, you know me!" Zoro rasped back. "In any case, follow me if you want to learn something." He walked off. "Huh, where are we going?" Nero was curious enough to follow. "To the internet cafe. Thanks to those bastards I am offline. But I saved up DP for such occasions. I need to find some information on a certain company."

(To be continued in Testament 22: Silence is Golden)

**New Cards used by Carter  
**Sky Scourge - Norleras

-  
Malevolent Catastrophe  
Aegis of Gaia

**New Cards used by Edgar**  
_Gladiator Beast - Leonidas_  
Test Tiger  
Gladiator Beast - Octavius

-  
Gladiator Beasts Battle Halberd  
Gladiators Return

-  
Gladiator Beasts War Chariot


	22. Testament 022: Silence is Golden

Testament 022: Silence is Golden

The first thing they used was google to find information on the name "Tu'maga". The results werent that pretty.

"Well look here, it turns out the name Tumaga belongs to a large scale monopoly somewhere in England." He found information at the first link already. "Yeah so what does this have to do with the dueling?" Carter grumbled. "I overheard that word many times, as I listened in on Edgars recordings. I must have dug up some old data by accident. But look here." The next article made it a lot clearer. "Tumaga inc makes a generous offer to Outerdeck, as they are trying to absorb company." It said it all there, Tumaga Inc was the number one rival company to a lot of industries, including the card game creators. "Now it makes sense, this must be some kind of shady businessdeal between both corporations. Edgar is hired by Tumaga, and he is supposed to win this tournament so that he becomes the card king of games. And because he is hired by Tumaga, they can claim ODE as a price." As ridiculous as Neds inspired theory sounded, it made a lot more sense in practise. "_Though if Cleo were here, she'd be laughing endlessly_."

"So what is this company then, who are they to try and take over?" Of course there was a wikipedia article as well. "Tumaga Inc, founded about ten years ago. It actually started as a small-time mining business, but rose to quick success as it found a random new fuel source. And after they hit an oil well, or in this case an ore well. And it became the huge firm that it is today." That did not explain why they were suddenly focusing on a game. But the next section elaborated on that. "And it says here that two years ago, it was taken over by the Creed-siblings. Two young but brilliant industrialists: Simon and Simone Creed." Apparently they lacked creativity in the naming department. This was where the information ended, there werent even any pictures of them or their firm. "So, this Edgar business is all just for a hostile takeover? How fascinating business can be. Can we eat now?" William yawned. "This is not to be taken lightly, Carter." Nicolai grunted. "But they're just..a company..what can they do?" Nero wondered.

Cue, a quick cut-away to location not too far away. On an island somewhere south of Great Brittain, was a large tower, surrounded by yard-high walls and electric fences. Not the most inviting of locations, as it was also seated on an isle casted in rows of rocksharp cliffs and heavily guarded beach-lands. It was inside this tower that the corrupt business leaders made their big world-influencing decisions. Or in this case, their decision to take over an innocent childrens card game. And on top of the tower, at the second highest floor, was one of the Creed-twins herself. Simone Creed, was the older of the two, and thus had more power then her younger brother. Though maybe she took this industrialist role too far, as she wore the most expensive of business suits and a monocle to boot. "So. What does the report from my good old friend, tell us?"

She spoke with a blurry hologram, using a visual communicator. It was the same hologram that ordered the white coats in the stadium around. "We have good news, madam. It seems my men have finally located not one, but three possible targets of high-level activity. Though we cant yet be certain that its them, we are at least confident that one or two have taken the bait of this contest." Hearing this made the insidious lady cackle with glee. "Eheh, thats good, they dont expect trouble. Who knows how many we have drawn out." But the holographic servant coughed. "Unfortunately, our distraction plan worked too well. None of my men were found out, but that idiot we hired already got figured out by some nosy children." He of course referred to their champion, Edgar. "Meh, as long as he wins this for us, it wont matter who knows about his true colors. Outerdeck is going to be ours anyway. When the finals are over, we can finally make our move." She laughed loudly. "Of course, madam." The hologram scoffed and shut down.

That night was a rather unsettling one for the 32 gamers in the hotel. One of the gamers had already left the city, claiming that there was nothing left for him. Not that it stopped some of the others of watching the rest of the tournament. More rumors only made the whole event even more attractive. Ned was of course the kind of guy to leak his suspicisions online, telling everyone that Edgar could very well be the spy that everyone was looking for. Alas he did not expect Edgar to be online as well, in fact. "_Can not blame the kid for finding out about all of this, this laptop is modified heavily" _He was using Nicolai's old device, which he obtained by trading in DP for items from the lost and found box. Corruption was one of his biggest friends. _"But a champion can not have this kind of karma, not for three more duels. It is time to play your game Nicolai Zoro. And since you are already beaten, it will be him who get your share_" He clicked on the file that Tumaga had on Nero Jacobus, Duelist 0127, everything was in there, his points, his ID. Even the things that were not public knowledge "_Illegal access passed the first trial? How ironic_" And now he knew what weapon he would use, for the match that came in a few hours.

On the third day of the tournament, the final duel for the side stages would be played out. Today the judges could anounce the names of those that could enter the center arena, the place of the finals. But before any of that could happen, everyone had to beat their current opponent in the quarter finals, of course. The schedule was now more relaxed then ever before, with only 4 matches on this day, everyone was free to see all four. Venice would face Christine Rose who was on a quest to get all Baker cards, Ananka had to duel against the prodigal Cleo Caine, and Nero had the pleasure of dueling the loathsome Edgar Diamond. Anticipation was high for each of these games, but they would all have to wait. The first two duelists were Colin Sairve and Jackson Doe, as usual. When one stood on top of the bracket, one would have to deal with such kinds of problems, all the time. Nero and company were also in the audience, watching their 'favorite' diviner in action.

"_Well, if I win this match, I might have to face her again_." Colin sighed, with Ananka's inexplicable streak of luck, he did not look forward to tomorrow. But as strange as it sounded for a fortune teller to say this. "I have to focus on today, today." Before him stood the enigma that was Jackson Doe. Certainly not a man that people could gossip about, they just knew to little, even his name sounded standard. "_And I know next to nothing about his deck, since I always leave the stands when I am done dueling..oh well. _The number one seer of the world will just bend fate to his will, once again. Eh Jackson?" He asked the man, who returned his words with a simple silent glare. "Right, I forgot, you're a mute. Well anyway, I did my reading for today, and sadly the cards predict your victory." Which of course meant that the opposite would happen, but he would not tell him that. "Now, you two can begin the duel." The Judge said, feeling that this conversation would go on forever. "I knew you would say that..draw!"

Colin drew five cards, and his adversary did the same. Then they decided to see who goes first, by the power of destiny. "Heads!" Sairve tossed a penny, and it hit the ground with the Tails-end up. 'Damn it! I guess its your move." And Jackson did not even have to agree or disagree, it was already his turn. He drew his sixth card, and summoned a monster to the field. "Arahabaki, symbol of the Hermit." And he called a strange doll-like creature(600/500), with halfclosed eyes and a sphere-like body and limbs. "Okay..that looks weird...and yet very weak." But the seer was more weirded out by the voice that came with the monster card.. "Oh so you can talk. How strange." He smirked, but Doe just shrugged and shifted back into his silent stage. This was what usually happened, he only spoke when he summoned a monster or declared an attack, and even then his voice sounded unusual for a person like him. "Wait, the Hermit... is that an Arcana inspired monster? Ugh not again, one Ananka is enough for me."

"Symbol of the Hermit. Hmm, I guess this is that 'other' Arcana deck that my brother was talking about." Carter commented, calling back to what he said that day they met with the two fortune tellers. "One set is common, while the other was a rare custom-made pack, I guess this Doe-guy made a special deal with Outerdeck." And their effects were quite unusual as they would soon see. It was Colins turn, and he summoned two more monster cards to the field. "I special summon Gilasaurs(1400/800)! They can be called from my hand and my opponent can then revive monsters that were killed." The latter statement was naturally redundant, as there were no monster cards in Jacksons graveyard. "You activated Arahabaki's effect." He stated calmly.

Suddenly the doll opened its eyes, and its attackpower shot up (2100/500). "What the, he didnt have that effect before." Colin protested. "Thats the power of the symbols, each has three hidden powers, spell, trap and monster related powers. They change their effect depending one the last card that was activated. Some of these powers are beneficial, some are not." Arahabaki gained the monster form due to Gilasaur. "The monster power is.. to gain the original attack of 2100 points." It was just as strong as a Greed Quasar now. "Ggh, then my plan to swarm all over him, has been shot down" He still tributed both dinosaurs, for his favorite attacker, Greed Quasar (2100/2100). It again received the attackpower from his lifestars. "_I need a spell or trap to weaken him again, but I can not activate either this turn_." He ended his turn after he placed a trap. This was a lot different from Ananka's tarot cards, they only had two sides to their powers. Speaking of which, she was watching the duel as well. Ananka was already aware of this second set of Arcana cards. "_Well at least this way it will be the Tarot that judge him, hee_"

_Arahabaki, Symbol of the Hermit 4/600/500 Earth/Rock/Persona  
__Only one 'Persona' card of the same name can be on the field at the same time._  
_This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
__Monster: This card's original attack becomes 2100.  
__Spell: This cards's attack and defense become 0  
__Trap: This card's original defense becomes 2400._

She would not mind it to see Colin lose. "But only one Symbol per Arcana, can be on the field." There was a deeper psychological reason for that. "I summon this card. Surtr!" He had called out a demon mage of flames, Surtr of the Magician Arcana (2400/1500). And as he did, his voice got a lot louder, and wilder. "You have a trap card facedown I see! I am not foolish enough to fall for that one." He smirked as Surtr started gathering smoke and fumes into itself. "Whoa, the hell happened here?" Sairve did not expect the mute to get that excited. "Surtr will instead hit you directly!" He said with enthusiasm, as flames shot out from the symbols body, which hit Colin for a whopping 2000 points. "Aagh, what the hell was that?" However as a cost for this, the spellcaster had to skip its attack for this round. And it could not cause that much damage again, but the lead started with Doe. "I hope you dont get burned too much." Doe laughed, and then abruptly resorted back to his stoic stance.

_Surtr, Symbol of the Magician 6/2400/1500 Fire/Spellcaster/Persona  
__Only one 'Persona' card of the same name can be on the field at the same time._  
_This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
__Monster: If your opponents lifepoints are higher then 4000, you can inflict 2000 damage to your opponent's life points.  
__This card can not attack during the turn this effect is activated, and this effect can only be activated once during the game.  
__Spell: Discard one card from your opponent's hand, if its a spell card you can inflict 500 damage to the opponents lifepoints.  
__Trap: As long as this card is face-up on your side of the field, inflict 1200 damage to your lifepoints during your endphase._

Colins LP: 6000

"...You Are weird, no doubt about it." Colin coughed, and waved his hand around. "Stupid holographic smoke..anyway, its my turn!" He counted the number of stars on Surtr. "Your monster has six stars I see...thats very nice." He laughed and drew again. "But you should have attacked Quasar instead, when you still had the chance." He activated the spell he had recently drawn, Promotion. "This is a near opposite of the spell Demotion. Instead it gives a monster card, four extra stars!" Greed became a 11-star card, a feat which would have been wasted on all other monster cards. "And Greed now gets eleven times 300 attackpoints(3300/3300). Guess what, it will kill that flaming arcana." Greed opened its massive jaws, while both of its claws grabbed Surtr by the neck. "Hey." And before he could object, the Magicians symbol was devoured, and Doe took damage. All six stars were added to Greed, making it a 17-star monster (5100/5100) "_That thing sure lives up to its name_." The seer left it at that.

Jacksons LP: 7100

_Promotion, Equip Spell  
__Upgrade the monster equipped with this card by 4 levels._

Doe didnt say anything this time, he drew, and he activated a spell card. The card was called 'The Law, The Balance and The Justice', and it forced Doe to discard two cards from his hand. "What does that do?" Jackson showed the spell to his opponent, making him read it for himself. "The opponent has to discard cards from his hands, until they both have the same amount of cards? Heh, funny. You do realize, we both have three cards in your hand, I dont need to discard anything..I" However, he then read the fine print. "If the opponent can not, a monster card will be destroyed instead!...Oh." So Greed Quasar got the short end of the stick, and was disposed off by a quick bolt of lightning. Doe then summoned another one of his odd Symbols. "Shiva, of the Tower!" He called the ice mage (1800/500). His spell card had the effect to not count towards a Persona, making the last effect activated a monsters effect. "Direct attack." Shiva pelted Colin with virtual ice. "Damn, I always get the weird ones. Even the future seems to hate me now."

Colins LP: 4200

_The Law, The Balance and The Justice, Normal Spell  
__This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona' monster card. Discard two 'Persona' monster cards from your hand. Then, your opponent must send cards from his hand to the graveyard until he has the same number of cards the controller of this card has in his hand. If your opponent did not discard any cards from his hand, destroy one face-up monster card on the field._

_Shiva, Symbol of the Tower 4/1800/500 Light/Spellcaster/Persona  
__Only one 'Persona' card of the same name can be on the field at the same time._  
_This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
__Monster: Each time your opponent activates a monster cards effect, discard one card from your deck.  
__Spell: Each time your opponent activates a normal spell card, draw one card from your deck.  
__Trap: Each time your opponent activates a normal trap card, draw one card from your deck._

He had so little lifepoints left, he could lose in less then two turns. "My turn. Draw!" He drew another spell." I activate spell card, Trade In. This spell I can use to discard one lv.8 monster from his hand" He threw away a Lava Golem. "To draw two new cards." It was a small cost for new tricks. Shiva then moved to her spell effect, but it would not activate til the next normal spell was played. "Heh." And one of the two cards Sairve got was his trademark Dora of Fate. _"..I take that back. It seems the future still loves me. Doe will just have to witness Dora's power early on in the duel_"

(To be continued in Testament 23: One Mind fits All)

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve  
**Gilasaurus

-  
_Promotion_  
Trade In

**Cards used by Jackson Doe  
**_Arahabaki - Symbol of the Hermit_  
_Surtr - Symbol of the Magician_  
_Shiva - Symbol of the Tower_

_-_  
_The Law, The Balance and The Justice_


	23. Testament 023: One Mind fits All

Testament 023: One mind fits all

"I set a card facedown, in each zone, thats a trap and a monster." They were the two cards he had just drawn. "You can not draw a card if I dont play spells in a row, can you?" He smirked. "I can not, but..I can do this!" He yelled out loud as he suddenly played his spell card, The Evoker. "This spell brings back one Persona from the graveyard. I can revive the magicians symbol!" The flaming spellcaster (2400/1500) returned to his side. "However the monster summoned this way is destroyed during the endphase. So I sacrifice it and Shiva!" He tributed the symbols of The Magician and The Tower, for an eight-star monster. "Behold, the majesty itself. Odin of the Emperor." Now the field was graced by a hologram of the infamous norse god lord(3000/1800). "And I will now..attack!"

_The Evoker, Normal Spell  
__This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona' monster card. Special summon a 'Persona' monster card from your graveyard to your side of the field, the monster summoned this way is destroyed at the end of your turn._

"Why thank you." Unfortunately, this was just what Sairve wanted to see. "Trap card, Dora of Fate!" He targeted Odin with it, and since it was eight stars, Fusilier would do well in that format. "You dare to touch the emperors symbol?" Jacksons tone changed again, this time he sounded more regal, yet smug. "You will pay for that insolence!" Odin readied his mighty lance, and hurled it into Colins facedown monster card. "Why thank you, again. Heheh." But that too was a trick, his facedown monster was his immortal pink gooball, Marshmallon (300/500). The spear left no mark on it, and then the monster inflicted 1000 effect damage back to Doe. "Ggh, such tiny things should not rise against us." He grunted and ended his turn. "Yet they do. Oh and guess what time it is." He nodded to the crowd as well, who all saw this coming. "Thats right! It's superspecial Fusilier go-time!" He normal summoned the 7-star Dual Mode Tank from his hand, without tributes (1400/1000). The trap Dora reacted, and did an additional 4000 damage to Doe.

Jacksons LP: 2100

_Odin, Symbol of the Emperor 8/3000/1800 Warrior/Light/Persona  
__Only one 'Persona' card of the same name can be on the field at the same time._  
_This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
__You can normal summon this card without tributing a monster. If you choose to do so, this card's original attack and defense is halved.  
__Monster: When this card destroys an opponent's monster, inflict damage equal to either half of the attack or defense points of the destroyed monster.  
__Spell: When this card destroys an opponent's monster, reduce your own lifepoints by an amount equal to the attack points of the destroyed monster.  
__Trap: When this card destroys an opponent's monster, after damage calculation, inflict 1000 damage._

"As tiring as that combo is, its still painful and powerful." Nero commented. "Eh you have to appreciate consistency, why not go with what works." Carter would not mind seeing Sairve win again with the same tactic. "Unfortunately, this looks bad for me, eh? I left my weak Tank wide-open, and your monster now inflicts damage according to half its original attackpower, which is Fusiliers current attack anyway." He played another card from his hand. "I reckon this will hold you at bay, heh." It was a continuous spell: Marshmallon Glasses. "From now on, all monsters can only see my little gumball, and thus they can only pick it as an attack target." The Emperors face was now framed with corny spectacles, and his vision was blurred by images of Marshmallon. "Impudent knave, nobody can do this to an emperor and go unpunished." Doe still sounded like he was of royalty himself, even when he summoned a newer Symbol. "I summon Seth of the Moon." Which was also affected by the curse of the glasses. "Gah! Confounded.." The dragonic Persona roared and fumed, as its sight was obscured as well. "Zhe goggles, zhey do... something, hahaha!" Doe was powerless to hurt Colin now. "Stalling and burning, Colin really is an annoying opponent."

_Seth, Symbol of the Moon 4/1400/1000 Dark/Beast-Warrior__/Persona  
__Only one 'Persona' card of the same name can be on the field at the same time._  
_This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
__Monster: When the last effect resolves, choose one face-up monster card, and turn it face-down.  
__Spell: When the last effect resolves, choose one face-up spell card, and turn it face-down. The positions this card can not be changed until the next turn.  
__Trap: When the last effect resolves, choose one face-up trap card, this card can not be removed from the field during this turn._

Cleo sighed, she would have to duel him next, since she already knew that she could not lose today. "If only I had a spell. End turn." Of course, the seer was not quite in the clear yet. None of his creatures could match Odin in a fair battle, and they could only tie with Seth. "Wait, this spell I can use.." He activated a normal magic card, and tributed Fusilier. "Star Level Shuffle!" The Tank started to glow. "This is my special card. I can tribute a level 7 monster, to special summon one, from my graveyard!" Fusilier faded into light, and a replacement came forth. It was his old friend: Greed Quasar (2100/2100). "Attack Seth!" The demon grabbed the dragonsymbol by the wings and devoured it completely, a process which took some time. The four stars of Seth were added to the space fiend (3300/3300). "Now I have the stronger monster, again. Colin is back in the game!" He cheered for himself. ".. Foolish peasant. You should not be joyful, cant you see?" Doe however, pointed at one of Sairve's cards: Marshmallon Glasses. "Its facedown?

Jacksons LP: 1400

_Star Level Shuffle, Normal Spell  
__Send 1 monster you control to your graveyard to special summon 1 monster from your graveyard with the same level as the monster you sent to the graveyard._

He then remembered what effects were printed on the card he just killed. "Seth did that?" Indeed, when the fortune teller activated Equal Exchange, Seth reacted instantly with his spell effect and switched the Glasses facedown. "So what? You cant kill either one of my cards, not anymore." He ended his turn, certain that he finally had cornered his enemy. But that confidence was soon beaten out of him, when he saw Doe's next monster card. "Anger(500/500)." Doe summoned a Union-monster. "My anger will strengthen us." He played a card called: Support Consciousness Anger, to empower Odin by 500 points (3500/2300), making the Emperor superior to Greed. "My anger will slay all that dare stand in our way!" And he made that perfectly clear when Odin decapitated Greed Quasar, sending the demon into the graveyard for the second time. Then Odins monster effect activated at last, inflicting damage to the duelist, equal to half of Greeds attack or defense, which was 1650 points total of effect damage, and 200 battle damage. "Why oh why did Greeds attack boosts have to counted as his 'original' attack." He sighed as Jackson ended his turn. "_God, this is getting old. Whats a poor reader like me to do?" _

_Support Consciousness-Anger 2/500/500 Dark/Fiend/Union  
__Once per turn, during your main phase, if you control this card on the field, you can equip it to a 'Persona' monster card as an equip spell card, or unequip the union equipment and special Summon this card in face-up attack position. While equipped to a monster by this card's effect, increase the atk/def of the equipped monster by 500 points._

Colins LP: 2350

But when he drew his next card, a plan formed in his head once more. "Aha! I summon the monster card, Herald of Creation!" He called out a prophet monster (1800/600). "This monster card can add one level seven or higher monster card, back to my hand. If I discard one card from my hand." He also reflipped his facedown spell Marshmallon Glasses, now that he at least was allowed to do so. "_Dont tell me he is planning on using that trick, again. Poor Colin must be getting desperate if he attempts Dora of Fate twice in one duel_" Ananka was still enjoying seeing him in a tight spot. "You think the emperor to be naive? Tsh, I know what you scheme, rebellious scum." Evidently, Doe foresaw that the Herald was just there to send Fusilier back to his hand. "Dude ease up with the accent. Pretending to change personalities along with your cards is fun and all, but its getting annoying." He did not seem to get what was going on. "_Colin, if only you knew_." Ananka figured that he was to slow to comprehend it, even a little.

"I wont give you a chance to mock your ruler again!" He then did a strange move, he unequiped the Supporting Anger from Odin, which seemed to calm his expressions a bit. And then he sacrificed both Persona cards, to tribute summon something else. "Symbol of Strength, Siegfried(2600/2000)." He sounded just as high and mighty as before. "Alas, this symbol is only of the seventh level. And your Herald can not recall cards of level six and lower. This should delay your devious tactic." Although now he sounded more like a noble knight, then a cocky king. "But I still cant attack anyone else, so I set a trap and end my turn." Siegfried was also equipped by the glasses. Yet Colin was not that thick, he noticed the slight difference in tone each time a new monster appeared. "_Its strange how he perfectly adopts a new attitude. Its so convincing an act, I even start to believe his voice changes along with them_." But he did not want to be distracted by this method acting weirdness.

Siegfried, Symbol of the Strength 7/2600/2000 Warrior/Light_/Persona  
__Only one 'Persona' card of the same name can be on the field at the same time._  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
You can normal summon this card from your hand by tributing one Persona monster on your side of the field, if summoned this way it can not attack directly.  
Monster: This monster cannot be affected by your card effects.  
Spell: This monster cannot be targeted by a spell card.  
Trap: This monster cannot be affected by a normal trap card.

Also Jackson was correct. He could not use Siegfried as Dora bait. He could use the Heralds powers to retake Lava Golem, but then he would have to wait for the next turn, to get back Fusilier. And also, right now there was no way to summon Lava Golem, since Doe had only one monster on his field. "Draw!" But his deck had more then one type of golem, as he would soon reveal. "Eat this then, Monster card: Grinder Golem!" Suddenly a large mechanical demon stood next to Siegfried, wrapped in chains and saws (3000/300). "What the heck is that?" The audience shivered. "This is the Lava Golems opposite, an 8star card. I can special summon it to my opponents field, and in return, I get two tokens." Two miniature Grinding golems (0/0) came to his field in attack mode. Their weakness did not matter much, since he still had Marshmallon Glasses to protect him. "I also place a trap card facedown." Everything was set for Dora's second assault, all he needed to do now, was end his turn. "Your move eheh."

His smug expresson betrayed all his intentions, well almost all of them. Jackson started to draw. "And now I activate my trap card! Trap of Darkness!" He would not wait for long. "When I have less then 3000 lifepoints, I can give up 1000 lifepoints, to activate a normal trap in my graveyard. I naturally select my Dora of Fate!" Dora returned, and targeted the Torturer. "And next turn you'd seek the Heralds aid to regain control of Fusilier, thus ending the duel in your favor. I know what you plot. Alas, I foresaw this. Prediction is not a skill of the diviners alone." He flipped his trap card Mind Impact. "What?" Colin did not expect a counter still in the draw phase. "Using this, I can sacrifice one of my monsters." Sairve blinked, thinking at first that he would kill the Golem, thus stopping Dora in her tracks. "But I can only offer a Persona monster card for this effect, therefore I sacrifice Siegfried of the Strength!" And he finally saw why he used this trap, it was not to avoid his Fate Trap, but to destroy his own last defense.

Colins LP: 1150

_Mind Impact, Normal Trap  
__Tribute one 'Persona' monster card on your side of the field. Destroy all face-up monsters on the field whose level is equal or lower than the tributed monster._

Doe went back to silent mode, now that he was without Persona, but in return..."_Damn it, damn it. I was too concentrated on winning. He knew this would happen, he had Mind Impact waiting for me all the time, Siegfried was just a diver..sion?_" Then something strange happened, right before Siegfried left the field completely. Colin swore he saw the monster card move, making a polite bow. "The hell? Holograms arent that creative, are they?" Most of them had just standard animations. "Gggh, not like it matters anymore." Mind Impact had its tribute and now could wipe out any monster with a level lower then Siegfrieds This included the Herald of Creation, his two Grinder tokens, and also.. Marshmallon. "Oh!" His permanent spell, Marshmallon Glasses, could no longer blind the enemy, if there was nothing to see. "So in the end he gets beaten by his own monster card, who could have seen that coming?" Carter wondered. Ananka would have raised her hand, had she been seated closer and heard that remark. "..." Then the mechanical torturer cut across Colins body, delivering a virtual wound his LP could not survive. It dropped to zero, and the judge shouted it out the clear results.. "The winner is, Jackson Doe!"

Colins LP: 0

Jackson didnt do much to celebrate his unquestionable victory. He walked off the stage, as silent as he was before the duel began, the crowd did all the yelling for him. Colin was left behind, still confused by that apparition he saw before the end. "Sorry to see you lose, Colin." Nero approached him. Most of the audience was already moving on to stadium 2, where Cleo would have her duel with Ananka. "But this is good news isn' it? You said yourself that you foresaw Doe winning the duel. So your prediction was right this time." And if that was true, Jacobus also had a shot at the championship title, since Colin saw that happen as well. "Sorry kid, it doesnt work that way. I see that now." He sighed. "I knew Jackson will lose, I was just arrogant enough to believe I would be the one to make him lose. Sorry, but I am sticking to what I told you. You are destined to lose." He was kinda bitter with the whole defeat-thing, and he never did feel like acting happy for the sake of others. "I have to go." So he deciced to leave, yet he was stopped.

"Your next card." Ananka stood in the way. "Hey move it, I certainly dont want to see you, coming to me just to gloating." But she was not here for that. "Your next card, Sairve, draw it." He was suspicious, but drew it anyway. "Its Starstorm isnt it? If you had drawn that card next turn, you would have won without the aid of your favorite trap card. You did not need to summon the Golem at all. You depend too much on one strategy Sairve." She was right, just like the previous day. "What is this your gimmick now? Telling losers how things could have been different, I dont need any lectures. Whats done is done." He grunted, and took another exit instead, ignoring anyone else. "Pity. Now that I see him in such a miserable state, I regret not having dueled him myself. He wont be half as amusing as before..." She said with a tone that lingered between sympathy and disdain. "Wait, isn't your duel in a minute or so? Shouldn't you hurry?" Nero asked the seeress. "Three minutes, actually, plenty of time..thanks for caring though."

She paused and felt a question coming on. "And before you ask, no I dont do duel predictions, he does not seem to understand that this game relies on to many variables." She referred to the prediction that Colin made three days ago. "So I cant verify or disprove Sairve's claims. Sorry."

(To be continued in Testament 024: Cheating Destiny)

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve  
**Herald of Creation

-  
Marshmallon Glasses  
_Star Level Shuffle (+)_

-  
Trap of Darkness

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe  
**_Odin - Symbol of the Emperor_  
_Seth - Symbol of the Moon_  
_Support Consciousness Anger_  
_Siegfried - Symbol of the Strength_

_-_  
_The Evoker_

_-_  
_Mind Impact_

_(+) Based on a spell used by Tenma Yakou in the Yugioh R Manga_


	24. Testament 024: Cheating Destiny

Testament 024: Cheating Destiny

_"Eh?" _As Nero walked over the second stadium, he stopped abruptly, as he sensed something strange. He could not explain why, but he felt as if he was being watched, the sensation struck him right before the exit. He looked up, staring into the stands behind the last row of seats. "_Was someone there, guess not_." He looked everywhere and saw nothing. _"I am becoming to paranoid." _Jacobus sighed and moved on. "..." He did not know how right he actually was, just a but further into the backrow, stood one of the white coats. "_To close_." He rushed behind a row of seats to avoid visual contact, it seemed to have worked. "_How did he know to look in my direction in the first place?" _

Stadium 2 was filled in a matter of seconds, and today the number of people that would watch her duel had doubled. Their collective cheering was giving Cleo a headache. She still had the curse of impatience, so thankfully Lady de la Isla did not keep her waiting as long as Stefan had done. "So you're what, a psychic?" She heard the rumors about her next opponent. "You did not watch my duels, how strange. I expected someone with your record, to act differently." Ananka smiled. "Everyone has expectations when they meet me for the first time, and most of the time they are disappointed. Let me guess, you are as well." She rasped. "No, I wouldn't dare. Those that see flaws, are often flawed themselves." She quipped. "_Great, first a pervert, now a philosopher. At least my first opponent was a textbook card gamer_." Caine thought as she started ticking her foot agains the floor. "How long do we have to wait again?" She asked the judge."Ehr you can start now, if you wish." He said. "Good" They activated their disks.

Ananka's LP: 8000 Cleo's LP: 8000

Cleo drew six cards, not even waiting for Isla to bargain about initiative. "I see you are used to dealing with male gamers, they usually adhere to the 'often seen as sexist' notion that women always go first." She did not mind this evidently. "Thats mostly because they want to start attacking first. They get adrenaline even from this insipid game." Personally, she blamed the holograms, whose bright idea was it to invent these dueldisks and waste money on them. "Guess I will do this in my first turn." The gothgirl placed a monster card facedown, and nothing else. "Good old Cleo." Carter smirked, her unorthodox dueling methods had not lost its entertainment factor yet. "I guess you did. Lets see how our prodigal duelist handles the Arcana Force." She placed one card facedown and activated a spell card, Choice of Fate.

"You can select one card from my hand, and if its a monster card, it is summoned to my side of the field." She had four cards left in her hand, little did Cleo know, that all of them were Arcana monster cards. The only non-monster card was facedown already. "Eh, that one." She chose the middle one. "Hmm, this one is.. okay. Arcana Force X Wheel of Fortune." It was a demonic roulette wheel with several eyes on its sides (2000/2000). "And its effect is.." It started spinning, as all Arcana's did. "...Faced down?" However she did not expect it to do that, the Wheel stared right at her. "That's bad right?" Cleo grinned. "Yes it is.. _But how_." She looked down, and then to her deck. "Bad luck maybe, but an offense will still come your way." The Fortune Wheel spun around, shooting a ring of energy that ripped through a facedown fiend: Newdoria (1200/1500) "What, an effect monster?" The crowd gasped, Newdoria's effect would kill one monster on the field when it died, and Caine killed Arcana number ten with it.

_Arcana Force X Wheel of Fortune 5/2000/2000 Light/Fairy  
__When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
__Heads: During the next endphase, pick up the top card from your deck, from your deck, and shuffle it back in your deck,  
__for the duration of the duel that cards effect cant be negated.  
__Tails: During the next endphase, you must pick up the top card of your deck, and shuffle it back in your deck,  
__for the duration of the duel that cards effect is negated._

"Tsch. Even if it leaves the field, I still have to follow through on its effect. I have to choose one card in my deck, and for the rest of the duel its effects are sealed." She picked her top card, The Judgment, blocked its effect, and reshuffled it into her deck. "_I shouldn't get facedown effects, not with 'that thing'." _She shook her head. "_Something is wrong here_. Your turn." Ananka said with reluctance, having a hand full of Arcana's and one trap was not good for a first turn after all. "I can see that." Cleo drew and summoned another one of her questionable fiends to the field, the almighty 13th Grave (1200/900). "And I dont mind it if you kill your own monsters." The zombie cackled as it stabbed Ananka with his oversized lance. ".." De Le Isla was still confused by her own misfortune, she knew that it would not have happaned under normal circumstances, it was impossible to get a facedown effect. She had to test it out. "Thats all." Once again, Cleo passed the oppurtunity to use her turns for something else besides attacks.

Ananka's LP: 6800

Logical as the only cards in her hand were monster cards, and a ritual spell without the proper ritual monster. "Thank you." She then used this round to try out the extent of her luck. "I summon the third of the Arcana, The Empress!" Before her came a vaguely female and blue-grey humanoid (1300/1300). She too started spinning around and stopped at the upright position. "Good, it was just a fluke then. I attack the insignificant 13th Grave!" The Empress fired a blast of white magic, which desintegrated the vile undead, sending it back to his literal grave. "100 lifepoints lost, oh no." Caine responded sarcastically. Because she actually had a plan, she wanted to lure out her opponent with weak cards, letting them think that she was weak herself. "Beware ms. Caine, you risk triggering two traps when your time comes, choose your path well. Now that the Empress is turned upwards, she will special summon an Arcana from my hand, every time you normal summon an opposing fiend." She finished her turn.

Cleo's LP: 7900

"Oh? A monster with two thirteens, maybe the bad luck cancelled out the bad luck." Colin smirked. "I see you joined to watch the duel." Nero noticed he had just walked in, having missed the first few minutes. "Dont get me wrong, I am still bitter. But at the very least I will stay to see who loses. My predictions deserve that at least." That and he wanted nothing more then to see Ananka get beaten down. He would hate it if two Tarot Decks were to face each other in round four." He thought. Meanwhile the goth did not feel like another session with poetry, and immediately summoned the demon Gil Garth (1800/1200). Unfortunately, she just triggered one of the aforementioned traps. "As I foretold, you ignited the Empress' special power." She selected a card from her hand, a level 4 monster, and called it out. "The eighth of the Arcana, Justice!" A blind maidenlike being (1800/1800) showed up, but to her shock it faced down, putting up her shield instead of her sword. "What, again?" And Gil Garth attacked her anyway.

"Trap card!" She was forced to activate her second trick. "Waboku, the Emissary of Harmony!" It negated all battle damage for one turn. "I didnt want to waste this card on your weaker monsters. But you forced my hand this time. To use it against that, you really are something Cleo..._but why, why did I fail fate twice?" _She just did not get it, it was as if she could not control it anymore. _"I have had enough of this_" She reached for something on her neck, something unseen by the crowd, only her opponent felt that something was odd. "Okay, lets try this again." She sacrificed her Just Arcana, for the level 6 monster: Arcana Force XIII Death (2300/2300), and it was in an upright position. "Unfortunately, Justice's negative effect is turned on when it goes to its grave. I need to discard as many cards from my deck, until my grave has more cards then my deck." There were 4 cards in the cemetery a and 32 cards in her deck. "I discard 15." Afterwards the deck (17 cards) had less cards then the graveyard (19 cards).

_Arcana Force VIII Justice 4/1800/1800 Light/Fairy  
__When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
__Heads: When this card is destroyed as a result of battle, you can send one monster card on the field to the graveyard.  
__Tails: When this card is removed from the field, send cards from your deck to your graveyard, until you have more cards in your graveyard then in your deck._

"But now I can use The Deaths ability, to revive the top card from my graveyard!" Just like in the duel with Bastion, Death spun his scythe and opened a hole into the cemetery, from which came "Arcana Force VI, The Lovers is the lucky card." An odd alienlike fairy with long arms and pink eyes came forth (1600/1600). It revolved into an upright position as well. "Perfect.." She turned her attention on Cleo. "Tri-pronged attack!" The Grim reaper arcana beheaded Gil Garth with one stroke, while The Empress and The Lovers hit her with blast after blast of holy energy. "..." And now Caine was the silent partner in this duel. "Two uprights after one turn, some would call that a miracle." The girl said to the seeress. "Or maybe destiny has finally found its champion. You had quite the bit of luck yourself. Til now." She smirked.

Cleo's LP: 4500

"Feh." The goth drew, and activated the continuous spell: Dark Door. Now her army of Tarot angels could only attack with one Force. "Slowing me down I see, it no longer adores you." Then Caine summoned the monster card, Shadowknight Archfiend (2000/1300) "And you activated it again, are you that upset?" Ananka of course reused the special power of The Empress, special summoning a card from her hand. "I special summon the strongest card in my hand now: The Moon!" In front of the archfiend, came a mechanic creature that looked like it lived on the moon(2800/2800). And inside its stomach was a large headed embryo, controlling the body. Needless to say, it was upright as well. "Well I know who I want to kill." The demon knight raised its sword and cleaved through The Empress. However, as was required, the demonic knights damage was halved due to its effect, so Ananka only lost 350 LP. "Putting up a fight until the end, its a pity that I can not make this quick."

Ananka's LP: 6450

De La isla she had returned to a certain calmness, confident that she would not miss fate again. "The Moon has a special gift too, once per turn I can create a token." From the fairy's body, an egg was spawned. The egg hatched into a little alien embryo(0/0), which resembled the controller of The Moon. "And now, I special summon from my graveyard, the last card that was sent there!" Death teared into the dead dimension again, and allowed The Empress (1300/1300) to return. It started to revolve once more, and Ananka held on to something around her neck, something that Cleo barely saw. But when she released it, the Arcana was stuck. "Faced...down?" She was shocked, after three good runs, she received this. "You." Naturally, she searched the source of the disturbance, and found it in her opponents fingers. "That thing?" Her finger ring. But Cleo quickly placed it back into her pocket, before any nosy duelists could catch a whiff of it. "I guess we're more alike then I thought." She rasped.

"I thought at first, that you were cheating with the game through mechanical means. But now I see, you're just another one of those magical freaks." Like Glyph/Stefan, she assumed that this fortune teller had something that was connected her enchanted ring. "What are you talking about?" She shook her head. "We're not alike, we are not. The Moon, kill her demon!" She chose Arcana Force XVIII to pass through the Dark Door. Finally the lunar Arcana crushed the archfiend with its long suction cup claws. "Turn end." Cleo just sighed. "_She is playing the denial game, ugh. I cant blame her though, who wants to believe in all that abra kadabra bull. But if she thinks, that she is better then me. She has another thing coming!" _Her turn came and thanks to her ring, she drew a key card to her strategy.

Cleo's LP: 3700

She activated the spell card, Contract with the Dark Master. Sending Marie the Fallen One and Wall of Illusion away from her hand. "That cant be right...she is performing a Ritual summon?" Everyone gasped. "Dark Master Zorc (2700/1500)!" The dark lord roared, giving off an aura of fear to everyone in the audience. Half of them were more impressed then affraid though, considering ritual summons had never been tournament-material. "Guess what, yeah..a dice stone." She pulled it from her dress, and casually tossed it into the air. If she had not been so calm about it, she probably would have rolled a one as well. "Three!" That was the die's result, so she could kill one monster on the field. "I destroy that ugly Moon thing. Dark Catastrophe!" Zorc swiped his arm around creating a large blast that consumed The Moon. "And he will kill Death with its own hands." The demon then cut through Force XIII, stopping its abilities to revive the things she did not want to see again.

Ananka's LP: 6050

Ananka had only the Token, The Empress and The Lovers left. "Now will you just admit it already, you are the same!" She yelled. "I showed you already, you might as well show me your item." Ananka just stared at her. "I did not want it to come to this, but the revelation might dispel her influence over me" She reached behind her head, and unlocked a chain there. The item she pulled out, vaguely resembled a necklace. The piece she pulled out, was a pendant more or less. A golden string held it around her neck, and in the middle of it was ' the eye of Wdjat'. It almost resembled one of the infamous rumored Millenium treasures, a Torque. except it was cruder, blockier, it looked like a cheap knockoff. "Thats it, where did ya get that, the flea market?" Cleo was not to impressed. "I suppose yours is a family heirloom?" She grinned back at the goth. "Nah, attic..or something. I forgot." She shrugged. "And now I dont know if you are like me, or like that pervert from last round. Its a matter of whose trinket is superior..."

(To be Continued in Testament 025: Greatest of the Arcana)

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine  
**Newdoria  
The 13th Grave  
Marie, the Fallen One

**New Cards used by Ananka de la Isla  
**_Arcana Force X Wheel of Fortune_  
Arcana Force III The Empress  
_Arcana Force VIII Justice_  
Arcana Force VI The Lovers  
Arcana Force XVIII The Moon

-  
Waboku


	25. Testament 025: Greatest of the Arcana

Testament 025: Greatest of the Arcana

The audience was still to cheerful and excited, to take note of the coneversation between the two enchanted ladies. Not even the judge responded to their interactions, staying indifferent as always. Only those that knew the two were concerned. "Whats she doing, showing off her jewelrry at a time like this?" Colin scoffed. "Maybe she did it, because Cleo also did it?" Venice referred to the moment when she pulled out her own ring, to negate the power of Ananka's item. "Whatever it is, we sure dont get it." Carter sighed." Back at the duel it seemed the girls had passed the phase of comparing Items and moved to the next turn. Ananka's turn came up and she was about to draw. Yet then she lost 200 lifepoints. "Where did that..." Then she remembered that Cleo discarded Marie the Fallen One, when she ritual summoned Zorc to her field. "Marie will inflict 200 damage to your lifepoints every turn, as long as she is in my graveyard." She smirked. "Tsch. I understand my limits, do you understand yours, ms. Caine?"

Ananka's LP: 5350

She shrugged off the fallen angels curse. "I sacrifice the token that The Moon left behind for me, for the eleventh force, The Strength!" A mechanical Arcana joined the battle, on the lower end of its taller body was a smaller body, number XI had two heads. (2100/2100). "_If it is set in an upright position, I can take control of her monster card, and end the duel right here and now." _So she set out to influence fate, as The Strength revolved. But it stopped at a facedown position. "As long as I understand your limits, I dont need to understand mine, right?" It was just too bad for her, that Cleo was still manipulating the game with her own ring. "You.. This is regrettable, if I would declare an attack with this card now, you would gain control of all of my face-up monster cards. That is the negative effect of The Strength." Instead she switched The Lovers and The Empress to defense mode. _"I have to savor my chances. Only one of my monsters is positive for me." _She then placed a trap card facedown, ending her turn

_Arcana Force XI The Strength 6/2100/2100 Light/Fairy  
__When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
__Heads: At the start of your battle phase you can take control of one face-up monster on your opponents side of the field  
__Tails: At the start of your battle phase you must switch control of all your monster cards, except for this card, to your opponent._

"Drawing." She looked at her opponents field. "Eh, dont know who to kill now. I will just slay them all." She rolled the dice once more, and it stopped on a one, of all things. "This means Zorcs dice effect kills all at once. Heh, bye bye." The crowd gasped, as Zorc powered up. "Not just yet, trap card!" She flipped the counter trap, Hierophants Wand. "When I activate this, you can not use effects to destroy my monster cards. In return you can draw a card from your hand." The wand pointed at Zorc and sealed its powers. Then her top card started to glow. "Meh" She drew it. It was her favorite card to boot, the Fiendish Engine Omega. "Not really threatening to me. If you want to lose slowly, be my guest." Zorc roared and lashed it with his bladed claws. One hit took down The Strength permanently. "I set a trap, nothing more."

_Hierophants Wand, Normal Trap  
__Your opponent can draw 1 card from their deck. During the turn this card is activated, cards on your side of the field can not be destroyed as a result of your opponents card effects._

Ananka's LP: 4750

"Geh, whodda thunkit." A man cackled from his seat. "_Gypsies and goths, the two things that would stand out the most, and they actually are the ones I seek_." It was the street magician Glyph, finally making good use of his viewers ticket. Apparently he did not get into too much trouble with his shadowy friend. His interests were divided for once, both duelists caught his greedy eyes. "_How I overlooked her, I have no idea. She did not start abusing her gift until the actual tournament, that must have been it_." He was happy to see them take the match so far, because he learned a lot this way. "_But those items, they dont look anything like the ones on the scrolls, they are not part of the seven rumored treasures. Could there be more thenof them, is my source to outdated?"_ Ananka's turn started.

Ananka's LP: 4550

Again, Marie struck the seeress with her unholy blessing, taking down another 200 lifepoints. "Enough of your fun. I wont stand for defeat at the hands of someone who doesnt even comprehend the power she wields, to someone who obviously detests the game she uses for her own gains." She tributed Arcana Force VI. "The Lovers were upright, they count for two sacrifices now. That is if I tribute summon a new Arcana. And this one will make you see your flaws. Fifteenth force, The Devil!" A bloodred tentacle being (2500/2500) emerged, with several eyes on its body, and its brains contained in a waterfilled sphere. And this time, she used up all the concentration she could find, to force it into an upright position. "Its in an upright position! When this card attacks, once per turn it can destroy one monster on the field, and inflict 500 damage!" The Devil lashed out with all four scythes. "I do not think so. Trap card: Altar for Tribute." Before The Devil could touch her monster, an altar appeared. Zorc was consumed by its flames, flames that refreshed her. "This trap will convert that body's attackpoints into lifepoints for my body (Cleo: 6400 LP)." Instead The Devil hit her directly with one of its scythes, the effect damage also still went through.

Cleo's LP : 3400

_Arcana Force XV The Devil 7/2500/2500 Light/Fairy  
__When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
__Heads: Destroy one monster on the field when this card declares an attack, and inflict 500 damage to your opponents lifepoints.  
__Tails: Destroy all monsters on the field, when this card declares an attack, and inflict 1000 damage to your lifepoints._

"So you avoided the end this time as well. Your ring wont help you forever." Her turn was over. "Says the one who just started to wheeze. If it takes that much to get in one upright, your item must be sorta crappy." She smirked. "Ggh, mine is the 'real deal' miss Caine. It is my pride." Cleo however silenced her with a gesture. "No talking during my turn." She activated two spell cards from her hand. "I play the Book of Life, to revive 13th Grave." And also she removed The Moon from play, because..."Then Shallow Grave." The second spell allowed both players to set a monster card from their grave to the field, and she did not want to see The Moon back with all that defense. She set Gil Garth, while the fortune teller placed down The Death. "And finally I offer them both for about the only machine card that matters." The zombie and the demon made place for the machine of demons, Omega (2800/2000) "Get rid of that ugly thing that dares to call itself a decvil." And the Motordemon cut The Devil in two, no four, no... ten pieces.

Ananka's LP: 4350

"Oh yeah I forgot. If I normal summon a monster, you have to discard a card right? Thats the negative effect of The Empress." That was true, Cleo discarded a monster card from her hands. "You little" Cleo started her endphase next. "Omega's endphase effect activates." The Engine fabricated a tiny motor-engine-token (200/100), and The Fallen One took another hit at Ananka's life. "_Argh I cant let her get to me_." She drew a card, and activated it. "Spell card, Ace of Cups." She summoned a chalice, which revolved just like a tarot card. "Depending on the result, a player can draw two cards from the deck." The Cup remained standing, so it was upright. Spells took less then monsters evidently. "I can draw two cards now." She placed both of them facedown, to keep Cleo from taking cards out of his hand by normal summoning new monsters. But there were no new monsters on the field. "Thats it?" A reluctant nod was the answer, and she was only happy with that response. "Okay."

Ananka's LP: 4150

She tributed the token that Omega made, for five-star The King of Yamimakai (2000/1530). "Both attack." Her facedown Death was rekilled by the machine, while The Empress was finally offed for good by Yamimakai Everyone was in anticipation of what the woman would do next, they figured that she could impossibly get out of this duel, not with her luck. Another motortoken came, and Marie followed her miserable habits. "Oh." Despite all this, she was still hinting at a degree of confidence. The card she had drawn made her victory a certainty. "I did not think you would be the first to get all the way to the top, Cleo Caine. You did well, and now you will be defeaten." She played one of her facedown cards. It was her spell, Necro Sacrifice. "I revive The Devil and The Strength, to your side of the field." One ended up faced down, and the other in an upright position. "What the hell, why would you do that for?" But Bastions duel had proven that there was more to the spell. Now I can perform a summon of level 7 or 8. I choose the ultimate force... "

"I summon Arcana XXI..." From her hand came a figure of dominance. One-eyed, heavily plated and giving off a divine aura. "The World(3100/3100)! If I activate his beneficial effect, I will be guaranteed a victory!" The World started to spin. "_Figures, these people always pull something at the last second._" The goth moaned mentally, while waiting for this new thing to stop. "Faced down?" And The World stopped in the negative position, staring down at the seeress. In this form, Cleo could add the top card from her graveyard back to her hand before the drawphase. "I guess thats all you had left." Cleo halfsmiled. But the seeress got over her shock all to soon. "Just because I can not activate its effect, does not mean my attack will be any less powerful. I attack Omega, for its the only monster card which can threaten Arcana XXI!" The World created a ring of energy, which he threw towards the demon machine, ripping it into metal shreds. Then she ended her turn. "What a waste." And Cleo took back the top card on her cemetery.

Ananka's LP: 3950 Cleo's LP: 3100

"By the way, did you forget something?" The goth pointed at the two monsters which were summoned to her field by Necro Sacrifice. "My luck is better then yours, since this guy has its upright effect thingy." The two heads of The Strength (2100/2100) cackled at their former master. "Once per turn I can take control of one of my opponents monsters, and I choose The World of course!" She was about to brainwash the ultimate Arcana, when Ananka flipped her trap. "The Negative Oracle!" The entire dueling field trembled, and the holograms colors were inverted. "She had that card?" Colin flinched. "This will reverse the effects of all Arcana monster cards on the field, until the end of my next turn!" That meant, The World changed to its positive effect, as did The Devil(2500/2500). However the Strength shifted to its faced down position. "And when you enter a battle phase with Force XI, you relinquish control of all your monsters to me." Thus Arcana Force XV, King of Yamimakai, they all walked over to the fortune teller, joining her in battle.

_The Negative Oracle, Normal Trap  
__Until the endphase of your next turn, all face-up 'Arcana Force' monsters on the field have their Heads/Tails effects switched._

"Only two remain. The strength, because otherwise he would continue shifting from one place to another. And tokens are not actual cards, so control can not be changed." Cleo could not believe it, she had a card that could simply turn around her fortune? "Its not over yet." If she had not kept her last card in defense mode, she would at least have been able to kill her treacherous fiends. "I sacrifice this inverted thing and the token for Omega. But in facedown defense mode. "If only one monster can attack, why bother to stay in attack mode? I set a trap as well, and end my turn" She had to rely on the trap, Omega and the Dark Door to get through this game. "You say that as if you care, I do not think you do..Cleo." Marie the Fallen One hit her once more, but Ananka had drawn the perfect card.

Ananka's LP: 3750

"That no longer has any influence on this duel. I win.." She activated it in her draw phase even, the quickplay spell card: Mystical Space Typhoon. "Oh!" She summoned a typhoon to wipe out the Dark Door, allowing more then one monster to attack per turn again. "Now then, I already know what your facedown monster card is, Omega right?" She smiled, while her opponent just glared. "Then I attack with The Devil!" She hoped to kill it in one strike with the Devils burning ability. "Think twice!" Cleo however flipped her trap card, Dark Spirit of the Silent. A spirit infected The devils body, stopping its attack. "This trap stops one attack, and forces another. I choose Yamimakai!" The King of Darkness struck, hitting the facedown Fiend Engine (2800/2000). Its defense was equal to Yamimakai's offense, so neither monster could get an edge in. "Then... finally." The World fired a laser from its chest, which fatally pierced the defending Omega. "Even without Dark Door, she lasted against all that." Carter was impressed.

Even if she depended on luck most of the time, she at least knew enough to survive this long. "Even with the wheels of fate turning against you, you manage to avoid their claws. Time favors you too much, Cleo Caine." She entered main phase 2. "Therefore, I shall have to remove your hold on it, completely. I sacrifice Arcana Force XV, and your King." The World absorbed their lifeforce, crushing both monsters within its claws. "Whats going on?" The wheel on the beings shoudlers started to glow. Cleo was numbed with fear, she literally could not move. "This is the special power of The World, it can control the flow of the planet itself. And in this case, it can manipulate your turn." She ended her turn at this point. "What the." But her draw phase was never submitted to her dueldisk, she was forbidden to enter her turn. "This is, its power?" Her entire turn had been skipped, she could not do anything. "Yes, that is The World. You can not exert control over the future, if you have no future." It was her turn again. All she needed to do, to win... "Attack her, Arcana force XXI" The titan of tarot cards gathered energy in both hands and unleashed it upon its opponent, knocking her life to zero once and for all.

Ananka's LP: 3550 Cleo's LP: 0

The crowd was stunned, the judge was stunned, even Glyph was stunned. Cleo Caine..had lost. The holograms faded, the judge anounced the victory, and the audience released its loudness. Cleo just stood there, not quite knowing what she was supposed to think. Should she be angry for not making it to the top, even though she did not care much for the game? What she would miss the most was the championship rewards, and the knowledge that even she could be defeaten. And it had to be her, someone who possessed the same powers and actually enjoyed this game. Her one desire to show the world that this game was so easy even she could win, it was gone. "Meh, you can have your lousy title." She sneered as she walked off the stage. "You're not even curious as to the origin of my item?" The woman asked her. "If I was, I would have to tell you about mine as well. No thanks." She was not in the mood, possibly never again would she be.

(To be continued in Testament 026: High Pressure Area)

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine  
**Altar for Tribute

**New Cards used by Ananka de la Isla  
**_Arcana Force XI The Strength (+)_  
_Arcana Force XV The Devil (+)_  
Arcana Force XXI The World

-  
Cup of Ace

-  
_The Negative Oracle_

(+) All cards are based on monsters used by Sartorius/Saiou in GX season 2


	26. Testament 026: High Pressure Area

Testament 026: High Pressure Area

"What, she lost?" Glyph shouted, as soon as the duel had ended. "I understand that that seeress has an item too, but you disappoint me, Cleo Caine. Maybe you're not the miracle worker I should leech off." Just then the shaded stranger from before, showed up behind him, hiding from other people's sights. "Dont raise your voice, you will draw attention." He warned the street mage. "You again, what do you want now?" The old man rasped. "I am tired of waiting, what with the way things are going now. Its time for action, my friend. I am sure you have noticed that this tournament is observed by more then just common people." Glyph took a quick glance to his right and his left, spotting the various white coats spread across the area. "Of course I did, they arent hiding too well. My rod picked them up on day one." He chuckled. "Well then, you are the perfect man for te job. The job of hunting the trash down, and kindly interrogating them why the hell they are hanging around here. These people arent normal."

Glyph looked back at him, mulling things over. "Whats in it for me then, I already showed you how to copy the power of my rod, its time I'd get something in return." The shadow sighed. "Always the impatience. I guess that comes with age. Just find them, I am sure their superior will say more than enough to interest you. I am merely giving you an opportunity. Think about it" He then shifted back into the darkness, leaving no trace of his presence. "_Well if Cleo is already beaten, I wont have to bother with her..for now_." He jumped down the stage, into the alleys.

Everyone else took their seat in stadium C, where the third duel of the third round was about to begin. It was Venice Gray against the novelfan Christine Rose. "Come to think off it, I never saw her duel, what deck does she use?" Nero wondered. "Just look, you will either be surprised or amused. Its a deck that fits her." Colin was with the group as well, still sulking. "_Why did she have to win, I could have had a rematch against her. Instead I lose to silent boy_." He looked at Jackson who sat a few rows below him. "_Yeah thats right, I am staring at you_." Just then the two players entered the arena. "Quiet down Colin, our friend is going to duel." Nero said. "Friend? Whats the point of cheering for her then, Nero? If she wins, and you win, you will face her next. Course you winning wont happen often." The judge calmed down the crowd and anounced the two players. "Venice Gray, versus Christine Rose! Let the match begin!" The two girls drew their cards, and activated their disks, it was their turn to shine.

Venice's LP: 8000 Christine's LP: 8000

While the crowd was watching from afar, the two gamers held their own little conservation, before the game. "So you are Venice, my opponent. You do not look too nasty compared to other duelists I have faced." Christine stated. "I do not want to be nasty." She responded meekly. "Thats good to hear, such an attitude will get you somewhere. Its just a pity that I have to duel you. I can not lose to you here, because I need to win to get the final John Baker card." One card still eluded her, this match would give her enough DP to download it from the database. "I do not want to lose either." She sighed. "Lets give it our best" The two girls nodded and drew their cards. "The game between Venice Gray and Christine Rose, has commenced!" The judge declared, even though he had done that to the audience already. They decided their first turn through a virtual coin toss, and the coin landed on what Rose called. "I guess you begin." She attempted a smile while the other drew her sixth card. "Well.."

Rose simply placed one monster facedown, and ended her turn. She nodded at Venice to begin her turn. "Yes.. I will call..." To her field came a foggy bloodred creatue. "Poison Cloud(0/1000)." It was a monster made from clouds and smoke, it was a "Cloudian?" Nero blinked. "Thats from a more recent set isn't it?" He asked Carter. "Indeed. I don't know much about the decktype myself, I only know that she likes using it." Rose did not know what to think. "Wait, if its so weak, why did you call it in attack mode?" She could kill it in a single stroke and deliver a lot of damage at the same time. "Because I have to..." She replied, and placed a trap facedown. Then she surrendered her turn to her, allowing Christine to make the first hit. "Sorry Venice, but I can not decline such an opening."

She drew another card. Yet unfortunately, there was only one monster card in her hand, and it required two tributes. "Hmm. I will introduce you to one of John Bakers relatives, okay?" She normal summoned a swordsman that looked like her John Baker card, but he was younger. "In the Novel series, John has two sons: Zane and Rjak." This was the youngest, Zane Baker (1800/1900). "It attacks your cloud!" Zane unsheathed his sword and cut into the cloud, sending crimson dustballs everywhere. "And I...eh?" However the dust invaded Zane's body. "What the heck?" Then Zane suddenly passed out, his hologram shattered and Rose too lost lifepoints. "I am sorry, but when you destroy a Poison Cloud, the attacker gets hit by the venom inside and ...dies. And its master suffers as well, the toxins hit for 800 points." Venice followed with a trap card as well. "Natural Disaster: this card will do 500 damage, every time my clouds destroy your monsters with their effects, I am sorry again." Rose lost 500 more points.

Venice's LP: 6200 Christine's LP: 6700

_Zane Baker 1800/1900 Light/Warrior  
__This card must attack first during your battle phase. This card must be attacked first during your opponents battle phase._

Christine was left without defenses. "No need to apologize, its just a game. Only now I know what to expect." She finished her turn. "You are kind... I activate this then." She played a continuous spell as well, "This is Summon Cloud. Every turn I can special summon a level 4 or lower cloudian to my field, if there are no other monsters." She called out an eerie humanoid cloudshape. "Ghost Fog(0/0)" Then she used her normal summon to call another one of those, a second Ghost Fog (0/0). "They are both in attackmode again, what effect do they have?" She knew that these things werent as innocent as they looked. "Nothing much, just ..I wont lose lifepoints when they are destroyed..." Now that Gray had clouds on the field which negated lifepoint damage, Rose might as well not try to attack "Oh, spell card." She followed with the card Lucky Cloud. "I can draw two cards, if I summoned to clouds of the same name, in one turn." Both Ghosts had the same name so she could replenish her hand. "Turn end."

Christine's LP: 6700

Rose still had to generate some form of field advantage, otherwise she would keep spamming those clouds. "Draw" This time she did get a monster card from her deck. "Well you already met Johns youngest son, now its time to meet his oldest. I summon Rjak Baker!" She summoned the elder son with enthusiasm (1900/1800) "This card can attack two monster cards in one battle phase!" She could thus strike down both of the foggy wraiths. "Double strike!" Rjak grabbed both his weapons and cleaved through the Mist Ghosts. Of course the damage done to Venice was negated. "Oh, I forgot to say something." Suddenly the fog from the cloudians, swirled around Rjak, obscuring his vision. "When they pass away, they leave behind parts of their bodies: fog-counters. There is one for every level of the monster that defeated them." Rjak had four stars, so both ghosts left four fogcounters behind, all eight were added to the older son. "And what do these counters do?" Rose asked. "Nothing...by their own." She said softly.

_Rjak Baker 4/1900/1800 Light/Warrior  
__If more then one monster is on the field, this card can not attack first during your battle phase.  
__When there is a monster on your opponent's side of the field after this monster's first attack, this monster can attack once again._

"But with other cards..." Her turn came, she played a spell. "Diamond Dust Cyclone." A storm started. "This card can destroy one monster if it has 4 or more fog counters." The shining storm blew upwards, sucking in Rjak baker, and tossing him far into the air. "Well thats high." Rose looked up, she could not even see him anymore. "Then I can draw cards for every four counters that were on him." She explained, and since Rjak had eight, she could draw twice. "_That girl has a lot of drawpower, she can keep using her Summon spells that way_." Her field was empty, she could special summon an overweight Cloudian Altus (1300/0) with Summon Cloud, and normal summon the cloud with a mustache: Cirrostratus (900/0). "When Cirrostratus is normal summoned, it gets a fogcounter for every Cloudian on the field." There were two so it gained two counters. "And you said it, so I will too... Double strike" The two cloudians lashed out at Christine with wind and rain. _"I never knew I should have studied climatology to be a duelist"_

Christine's LP: 4500

The girl ended her turn. "Also I am sorry to tell you this, but these cant even be destroyed in battle, so you might as well not attack." Christine drew yet another monster card. "Well if I cant kill them, I should avoid them all together." She summoned another one of her novel monster cards. "Its a good thing that Nelson wrote about more then just Johns relatives, and thet Outerdeck included them into the set as well. I summon the sniper Kyle Baxter(1200/2000)" To the field came a sniper warrior, in attack mode. "This card can attack directly even if there are monsters on the field, that is good for me!" Kyle loaded his gun and fired a holographic bullet at Ms. Gray. "Ah!" Though the shot did not hurt her, the attack still startled her. "I did not expect that." She lost 1200 lifepoints. "Well I can not do that again any time soon, Venice, because Kyle has to reload his gun first." He was switched to a defense position, waiting for the next turn to switch back to an offense. "So I set a card in the MT-zone and end my turn."

Venice's LP: 5000

_Kyle Baxter 4/1200/2000 Earth/Warrior  
__This card can attack your opponent directly. If it does, any battle damage this card inflicts to your opponent becomes the original attack of this card.  
You must switch this card to defense position at the end of the damage step.  
This card's battle position cannot be changed until the end of your next turn, except with a card effect._

It was also around that time that the crowd got a little louder then usual, apparently they were boo-ing the girl for using such a cheap shot. "My turn. I use the effect of Cirrostratus." She sacrificed two of its fog counters. "It can destroy a monster for the cost of those two counters." The mist spread out, surrounded Baxter and choked him to death. The trap, Natural Disaster, responded to this and inflicted 500 damage to Christine "Ouch. By the way, what is their problem?" She grumbled as the crowd get even wilder. "Maybe they're jealous?" Gray suggested. "Jealous, of my cards? They couldn't be that depressive, could they?" They both shrugged. "Or it could be that" She said, but her voice trailed off. "Could be wha..hey wait a second." And they combined into one large one-eyed cloud monster. "The Eye of Typhoon(3000/1000)." It was one of the more imposing cloudians. "This card will switch the positions of all monsters on the field, if it attacks. Except cloudians." But her field was empty right now, again.

Christine's LP: 4000

The cyclops cloudian took a deep breath and released his gathered air upon the unfortunate duelist, trying to push her back with all of its attackpoints "I activate my spell card!" None the less, she could use this to her advantage. "Sons to the rescue!" Rjak and Zane were revived to the battle platform suddenly. "This quickplay spell revives both son-cards, if I take battle damage." Though at this stage of the duel, they could do little harm. "You returned them again, then I will have to destroy them again." Venice ended her turn, giving her opponent a sad look. "Oh dont feel like that, they would gladly give their life.."

Christine's LP: 1000

_Sons to the Rescue, Quickplay Spell  
__You can only activate this card when you take damage to your lifepoints as a result of battle. Special summon one Rjak Baker and one Zane Baker from your deck or graveyard to your side of the field. Monster cards that are summoned this way can not attack during the next battle phase._

"For their father that is: John Baker himself!" Now that she had two tributes, she could summon him. "John Baker (2000/2000) is here, he searched the deck for one of his armanents." She immediately equiped with the Sword of Light, that he took from her deck, boosting his strength (2500/2000) "How biblical." Colin commented with a smirk. "And now I equip him with a second spell card, Genji Sword!" John had a blade in each hand now. "It boost his attackpoints by 1000!" It was the second of the Genji equipment cards (3500/2000), she could not use it before because Rjak and Zane were not of a high enough level. "And now I attack the Typhoons eye!" John Baker aimed for the eye, and sliced with all his might. Everyone gasped however, when the cloudian dodged at the last instant, and Johns swords cut through cloud vapors instead. "H-hey. Dont tell me he is..immune to battle attacks as well?" The damage still transferred to Venice though. "I cant let him lose yet, Ms. Rose. I need him to be my strength..I am not enough."

Venice's LP: 4500

_Genji Sword, Equip Spell  
__This card can only be equiped to a level 7 or higher warrior-type monster card. When this card is activated choose one of the following effects:  
__- Increase this cards attackpoints by 1000  
__- Increase this cards attackpoints by 100 for every monster card in your graveyard._

"Not strong enough?" Rose repeated to herself as she placed a trap card and ended her turn. "Yeah. People always see me as the ...weak one..the shy one." Venice said. "But I dont wanna be seen that way." She placed a spell card facedown as well. "Hey, I dont see you as weak, and you're a pretty good duelist as well." She joyfully said. "Thats what everyone says, but ..I dont think its enough. Its just all I can do, playing this game is all I dared to do." She then entered her battle phase. "And the more I win, the less I will be underestimated." Typhoons eye created another mighty storm, its effect pressured John Baker into a defensive stance. "Your boosts wont work in that position. I am affraid." Typhoon then aimed straight at John Baker. Christine had to flip her trap, to save John Baker. "Art of the Doppleganger!" Baker was sucked in by the tempest, but he only 'poofed' as a result of it. The trap negated damage by an always convenient cloning and substitution technique. The Real John emerged from the clouds unscathed. "Oh, but you are strong too." She sighed. "Look I do not know who is saying all these things, but I promise you: I will not make fun of you either way."

_Art of the Doppelganger, Normal Trap  
__Activate this card when a face-up warrior-type monster is attacked. Negate all battle damage done to that monster._

(To be continued in Testament 027: A Foul Wind)

**Cards used by Venice Gray  
**Cloudian Poison Cloud  
Cloudian Ghost Fog  
Cloudian Altus  
Cloudian Cirrostratus  
Cloudian - Eye of the Typhoon

-  
Summon Cloud  
Lucky Cloud  
Diamond Dust Cyclone

-  
Natural Disaster

**New Cards used by Christine Rose  
**_Zane Baker_  
_Rjak Baker_  
_Kyle Baxter_

_-_  
_Sons to the Rescue_  
_Genji Sword_

_-_  
_Art of the Doppelganger_


	27. Testament 027: A Foul Wind

Testament 027: A Foul Wind

Of course despite Rose and her good intentions, she still wanted to get to the fourth round. "First off, I activate Johns Shield of Light, making all cards with John Baker (3800/2200) in their name, unkillable by trap cards." She said while reading the fine print on Venice's card. And then she saw the catch. "Hold it, your Cloudian has a weakness doesnt it?" She pointed at the last few lines. "The card says that it can not be in defense, or else." Gray nodded reluctantly. "Then I wonder what happens if I do this." She played the spell Earthquake. "This switches all face-up monsters to defense mode!" Her card was already defending anyway, but Tyhpoon was not. "No.." And when this cloudian switched modes, it withered like mist into the wind. "I am sorry Venice, I do not want to lose either." John Baker switched back to attack position. "Direct attack." And he swung both his sword across the girl. She shrieked initially, until she realized again that they were just virtual images. "We came close there."

Venice's LP: 700

_Johns Bakers, Shield of Light  
This card can only be equiped to John Baker, increase the cards attackpoints by 300 and defense points by 200  
When this card is activated, you can activate one of the following effects:  
- All cards on the field with John Baker can not be destroyed as a result of trap card effects.  
- Your opponent can not activate trap cards when the equipped monster declares an attack._

The crowd became unruly. The judge had to calm them down, since they started throwing stuff. "Are they still going on about that? Why am I the bad guy here?" Rose moaned. "Its my fault again. They probably think that you're to cruel against someone like me." She then reused the effect of Summon Cloud. "I special summon Cloudian Sheep Cloud (0/0)." She also placed a monster card and a spell card. "I guess thats what happens when ones motivation sounds so much nicer then anothers." After all, she was mostly doing it for the John baker cards, which could be considered a greedy motive. "But even then, I can not hold back, that goes against my principles." Finally she played the field spell card, Rising Air Current, which empowered all wind types on her side of the field (Sheep Cloud: 500/0)

"That's good. At least you treat me...like an equal." Her turn was over, and Venice wondered which card she would attack. "_Will she be affraid of my facedown monster and attack the visible one instead?" _Indeed she targeted the Sheep Cloudian instead. The small cloud was destroyed "You activated its effect. If this gets destroyed, two tokens are summoned" Two sheep tokens came from the dying cloudian, both in defense mode as well (500/0) They could only be sacrificed for a Cloudian tribute summon. "Hm, I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Nothing good would come off this, she knew that. Venice entered her turn. "Flip summon, Cloudian Acid Cloud (1000/0)." The tornado-like cloud appeared on the field. Next she activated a quickplay spell card. "Fog Control, this sacrifices one cloudian for a trio of fog counters." She tributed one sheep tokens, to give the Acid one three fog counters. "Then Acid Cloud can give up two of those counters for its effect: to destroy one spell or trap card on the field."

She picked the Genji sword. A twister pulled the blade from his hands, and John powered down (2800/2300). "Then Monster Reincarnation." She could discard a card from her hand. "I will not lose him for long." To add a monster, Typhoons Eye, back to her hand. "Oh Boy." She of course tributed both Acid Cloud and the other token to resummon her 8-star monstrocity. The mighty Cloudian (3500/600) re-emerged, empowered by the field spell. "Well then, I activate my own trap card." Rose flipped Call of the Haunted, to bring back Zane Baker (1800/1900) "What do you want to do? I do not get it..and I will not wait." Typhoons Eye inhaled, switching both cards to defense mode, and released another burst of air, straight at John Baker. "I wanted you to do this, I flip my facedown spell card, Unity!" The two warriors started to glow. "This combines the defense of both my monster cards!" Johns defense went way up, by 1900 points (2800/4100). And the cloudian was pushed back. She nearly lost all her lifepoints as a result of this.

Venice's LP: 100

"Oh no, I got to hasty." But she looked at the graveyard. "Wait, you could have used Call of the Haunted to revive Kyle Baxter too, he had 100 defense points more." If she had attacked then, she would have lost already. "Dont tell me, even you.." She felt like she was given pity once again. "No, its not like that. Had I revived Kyle Baxter, you would have attacked him instead, wouldnt you?" Venice had to admit to that, it was dangerous to keep a direct attacker alive. "Besided now I can show you something..." She drew and activated the final spell that John used, Johns Battle Armor. It boosted him by 200/300 points (3000/2500), and gave him the power to ignore monster effects. Monster effects like Typhoons ability to ignore death in battle. "And now its time for Kataryken!" She yelled enthusiastically, until it was clear that nothing would happen. "Oh right, I forgot... I dont actually have Kataryken yet. Oh well instead, I do this!" She sacrificed Zane, to tribute summon a female mage-warrior: Amanda Baker (2200/2100).

_Amanda Baker 6/2200/2100 Light/Warrior  
During the turn this card is succesfully normal summoned to the field, the effects of all your opponents face-up spell or trap cards are negated._

"This is Zane's stepmother in the novel, and Johns current wife. When this card is summoned, she negates the effect of my enemy's spell cards!" The field Spell: Rising Air Current was negated and Typhoon became only as strong as to John Baker (3000/1000). "Venice, its the end I think. Both our strongest guys will kill each other, letting Amanda take the finishing blow. You can surrender now, or do you want me to attack anyway?" Gray shook her head. "No, I lost, I know it. I want to be defeaten like everyone else." Rose accepted that, and attacked twice. John and Typhoon crushed each other in a violent display of wind and rain, and Amanda took down the last few lifepoints of Venice. "You really are strong." She said, as her loss was made into a certainty. "Hey do not talk like that. I bet you made it far enough on your own, to be seen as a powerful duelist. Besides, If I win this tournament, there is no shame to losing to me, right?" She grinned, and in the end, Gray agreed a little.

Venice's LP: 0

It did not take long for people to move from one stadium to the next, it was a controversial match: Edgar Diamond against Nero Jacobus. They both shared something in common: rumors of an illegal presence. "So now I am going to face the duelist that beat you.." Nero sighed. Against a Gladiator Beast deck he could not find the perfect preparation. And all the stares from people around him were distracting as well. "And supposedly the one that is here to ensure that Tum'aga Inc takes over Outerdeck." Carter for once did not laugh. "Well don't see it as taking revenge or something like that, we don't know if any of is is true. It sounds unusual for a large industry to waste all that effort on a gaming company, even if it is the most popular game of the globe. Some things just dont add up." He then saw Edgar walking up to the stands. "Be careful for his 'other' habit though. At least I am certain he uses his MP3 player for some form of illegal activities. I already lost, and its to late to protest. But it would not be fair for everyone to lose to such a tactic."

Nero nodded before he walked up to the platform. He was greeted by Diamonds smug expression. "So you are Nero, the Hero, eheheh." Now he too used the nickname that haunted him for months. "When one realized you would be the next opponent, they knew they would enjoy this." His smirk disturbed the duelist for some reason, as if Diamond was hiding sinister information that he really wanted to share. "I am not so sure myself, you seem to be quite the underdog on the net now." Nero referred to Neds compaign to discredit Edgar online, mostly because he got his laptop stolen. Though Nicolai was unaware that he had actually repurposed it for himself it as well. "Ah yes, that silly rumor. Its insane wouldn't you agree: hiring a kid to duel for a corrupt industry. Who would believe that?" He chuckled. Then the judge interrupted their talk. "Gentleman, the audience is getting impatient, shall we commence the game?" The two agreed to that, and activated their dueling disks. "As per usual, we decide by coin toss."

Edgars LP: 8000 Nero's LP: 8000

The judge flipped his coin, Jacobus called heads, but it landed on tails. "Funny story,.. wanted to call heads as well, guess your speed was your error." Diamond smirked and drew his sixth card, then he placed a monster in facedown defense position and placed a trap card facedown. "Your move, trooper." He complied and in his turn he summoned E-hero Wildheart (1500/1600) to the field. "Whatever your trap is, it wont stop this warrior." Wildheart could ignore any trap card effect. "Wildheart, attack!" The wild man smashed his fist into Edgars card, and a moment later he retracted it in a cry of pain. "Higher defense?" He had struck the Witch Doctor of Sparta(400/2000), who had 500 more points then his hero could handle. "This card has a special effect too. Every time a monster is summoned from the deck, like a gladiator, it inflicts 500 damage to your lifepoints." Nero ended his battle phase. "I see, your trap was a diversion, you saw Wildheart in my hands and wanted to lure it out." He placed two traps of his own.

Nero's LP: 7500

"Now now, no accusations of cheating." Diamond was not surprised that Nero knew about his MP3 trick. The guy that was feeding the information to him already told him that Nero knowingly held his cards close together. "First off, I normal summon the bull beast Dimacari (1600/1200). Then this, the spell card Gladial Rest, by discarding two gladials from the hand, one can draw three cards" Carter knew why he used that spell. Now that that there were two Gladiators in the grave he could special summon "Leonidas!" Nero gasped, he had called out his ultimate Lion beast right off the bat (0/0). "During the battle phase, it gains 300 attackpoints for the 14 remaining gladiators in the deck. Leonidas, kill Wildheart!" The lion (4200/4200) roared and threw his spear. "I can not let that happen!" But he used his trap, Hero Barrier, to negate one of his enemy's attacks. "I choose to stop Leonidas!" The barrier repelled the spear. "Oh well, if one warrior can not get the kill..." Dimacari charged head-first, grinding Wildman against the floor with his horns.

Nero's LP: 7400

"A Gladiator whose attack is negated can not retreat back to the deck." Leonidas stayed on the field, while the Bull retreated. He was replaced by the bird beast Bestiarii (1500/800)" Sparta's sorcerer then activated his effect and inflicted 500 damage. "You did not forget Bestoarii's effect, did you?" Edgar stated, as the bird released a windgust which shattered the other facedown trap. "I did not, in fact I counted on it." But it was the trap, Dummy Marker, which allowed him to draw one card from his deck, if it was destroyed while facedown. "Did you, or did you not see that card coming. Edgar?" The other did not respond.

Nero's LP: 6900

"My turn, I summon E-hero Stratos!" He called out the hero of air (1800/1600). "I can add one E-hero from my deck to my hand." He took Bladedge from his deck. "And now, fusion card Polymerization!" He aimed to fuse Bladedge into something stronger, unfortunately it was not allowed. "Trap Card, Disarm!" The enemy flipped a counter trap, and discarded a Gladiator from his hand. "This trap negates any spell the opponent tries to use." He explained. "Ggh, you blocked my fusion, you saw at least that much. Fine, Stratos will still kill Bestiarii." It was a small blow, but at least he managed to slay one of the gladiators. Edgar was confused though, why did he not kill Leonidas instead. "Then I set a trap card, and end my turn." Until he heard what the trap was. "Draw.."

Edgars LP: 7700

In his Main Phase he placed one card facedown, and then he summoned the Tiger gladiator Laquari(1800/400). Then came his battle phase and Leonidas roared. "Not again." William moaned. The lion and tiger clenched their fists. "An attack like this will likely be fatal, and here it comes." There were 13 Gladiators left in the deck. Leonidas (3900/3900) grabbed a sword and jumped at Stratos. It looked like the end for that hero, until the strangest thing occured. "Trap card, Mirror Gate!" Leonidas and Stratos's positions were flipped in mid-battle, inverted by the mirrors all over the field. "This card switches control of two monsters in battle, and calculates damage accordingly." The battle continued and Stratos took the blow for Edgar now. But he forgot one thing, Leonidas was on his field now. "He has no gladiators in his deck!" So Stratos killed the king of Sparta (0/0) with ease. And afterwards, Laquari fired a missile at Jacobus. "Recall Laquari, and special summon Gladiator Equeste(1600/1200)." The Witch Doctor hit Nero for another 500 as well.

Nero's LP: 3000

Then the Centaur Gladiator started to glow. "Equeste has an effect as well. When summoned by another Gladiator This effect sends a Gladiator back to the hand." He reclaimed Bestiari, yet he immediately discarded it again for a spell card. "Since you refused to lose this turn, you can have some fun with this spell card as well. Activate: Spell Chronicle!" The discard cost was for this spell, a scroll appeared next to Diamond, holding 5 open slots. "Now five spell/trap cards are removed from the deck (Cage of Gladiators, Heavy Storm, Lightning Vortex, Gladiator Beasts Battle Manica & Defensive Tactics). Every time you use a spell, a counter is added to the scroll." He pointed at the slots. "Two counters count for one removed card, so spend your spells well." And this guy knew how many spells there were in his hand...

Back at Stadium B, somewhere in the basement of the arena, an excited white coat reported back to his master. "Yes its true sir subject 00237 Cleo Caine may have lost, however both she and the other subject have shown what could very well be their millenium items." He spoke to the hologram as before. "This information could not wait? The long-range scanners will take some time to close in on the items." He scolded his subordinate for risking the secrecy his presence. "Its on behalf of Lady and Sir Creed. They demanded information as soon as possible. I do not.." The coat stopped in mid-sentence, to turn around and face the mysterious noisemaker that approached him from behind. "Sir and Lady Creed, who might that be? Never mind that, who the devil are you, eh?" It was Glyph, cutting of the mans exit. "Answer me!" Glyph grunted. "Psh, you dont know what you're dealing with." The minion reached for something in his pocket.

"Guns? How cliche." But the street mage was to fast for him, and pinned him against the wall before he could do anything. "Ugh.. What is this?" He was held back by an incredible invisible force. It came from Glyphs Millenium Rod, which he held behind his back. "Lets try that again, shall we?" He slowly walked up to the man, who started to panic. "Boss..sir Cadron, what do I do?" He asked his holographic master "What do you do? I thought that would be obvious." Suddenly a strange ticking sound started. "No..not that! I can still.." Glyph only raised an eyebrow, wondering what the hell could scare him even more at this point. "You have been compromised, unit 0236, you even told him my name. You brought his upon yourself." Then the old man twitched, as he realized what was going on. Too late, as the bomb implanted in the minions body exploded, engulfing both him and his stalker in a focused and silent blast

And Sir Cadron, having watched this event from his own position, just chuckled. "I always wanted to test out that routine, Kyahahah."

(To be continued in Testament 028: Trespassers like Us)

**New Cards used by Venice Gray**  
Cloudian Sheep Cloud  
Cloudian Acid Cloud

-  
Rising Air Current  
Fog Control  
Monster Reincarnation

**New Cards used by Christine Rose**  
_Amanda Baker_

_-_  
_Johns Shield of Light_  
Earthquake  
Unity

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
Mirror Gate

**New Cards used by Edgar Diamond  
**Witch Doctor of Sparta  
Gladiator Beast Equeste

-  
Gladiator Beasts Respite  
Spell Chronicle  
Lightning Vortex  
Heavy Storm

-  
Disarm  
Defensive Tactics


	28. Testament 028: Trespassers like Us

Testament 028: Trespassers Like Us

The effects of Mirror Gate ended and Stratos returned to Nero's field. "_This will be a long chain, and a lot of spells... sadly. Here goes!" _First he activated Emergency Call. "With this spell I can add an Elemental Hero to my hand." He took E-hero Captain Silver. "With this card I can add Skyscraper 2 to my hand." He discarded the Captain for the field spell, which he played. "With this card I can revive a Hero that died in battle!" He used it on E-hero Wildheart(1500/1600). "Fusion!" He could at last combine him with Bladedge through Polymerization. "I fusion summon Wildedge(2600/2000)" Edgar now realized his angle, Wildedge had the ability to attack all monsters at once. "I am not done yet!" He finally activated the spell H-Heated Heart. "This will give all my Heroes 500 attackpoints (Wildedge: 3100/2000, Stratos: 2300) and piercing power as well." In the mean time, the Chronicle scroll gained 4 counters for all 4 spells used this turn. "Now, this will hurt you." He was about to strike, but Edgar raised his hand, which confused the duelist. "Are you sure?"

_E-hero Vice Captain Silver 4/2100/800 Light/Warrior_  
_You can discard this card to the graveyard to add 1 Skyscraper 2 from your deck to your this card is on the field but Skyscraper 2 is not on the field, destroy this card._

"Did not want to say this, but...maybe you should reconsider your intentions, Nero." He smiled. "What are you getting at?" He did not like where this was heading. "Nothing, nothing. But a certain someone may feel bitter about losing the duel, and leak out that someone else is here on illegal grounds. Because that certain someone knows for 100 , that 'he' did not pass the first trial." Jacobus was shocked. "You know? And would blackmail me like that? Just to win?" And Diamonds expression already answered that question. "Just think about it. Would you want to leave this stage, universally loathed, or would you simply surrender while maintaining your benevolent appearance?" Either way it would mean his defeat, and Edgars victory, since the only evidence against him was taken away. "Edgar, your proposal sounds proper.." Nero closed his eyes. "But, you aren't innocent yourself, how many trials did you even pass, thats what I wonder. No, I think if anyone has to beat you, it should be me!" Undeterred, he entered the battle phase, Wildedge killed the Centaur Equeste and the Witch Doctor of Sparta with piercing attacks, inflicting 3200 damage. Next Stratos landed a direct hit on the Gladiator duelist.

Edgars LP: 2200

"Hey, Nero might win this after all." Carter smiled, as he watched that big drop in lifepoints. "Perhaps. But he spent all his cards to get this far." Ned was less optimistic. If Tum'aga had made this man their champion.. "Edgar still has the advantage... in numbers." He pointed at the Spell Chronicle. "We will settle this duel like actual duelists, Edgar." Nero then said as he finished his turn. "If thats your logic." The enemy shrugged. "In any case, you activated four spells last turn, thats four chronicle counters." Two slots on the scroll had lightened up. "That means you must pick two cards from the selected five." He showed the removed cards again: Lightning Vortex, Heavy Storm, Defensive Tactics, Colloseum and Gladiator Beasts Battle Manica. Jacobus had to choose which would be unremoved.

"_I have to pick something that wont slow me down, at best he will have one monster as a defense, since he emptied his hand last turn_.." Certainly, he could not pick Heavy Storm or Lightning Vortex. "I choose your field spell and that one trap card." Diamond accepted and added them to his hand. "Then, I set a monster card and I activate field card: Cage Colosseum." He changed the futuristic city, Skyscraper 2 into an ancient Roman Era ring. "Did not think about that did you?" He placed the trap face down. Nero drew again. "Heh, but now we are even. All the cards I will use from now on are the ones I draw, you can not predict my moves anymore."

He used his turn to summon E-hero Sparkman (1600/1400) "And dont think that I will ease up." He sent Wildedge to attack, and electrocuted the facedown monster card, Test Ape (700/300). When it died, it would be replaced with a gladiator. "Summon Gladiator Beast Laquari" He called the flaming tiger, who was powered up by the dungeons one counter (1900/500). "Wildedge attacks again of course." But this time, Edgar could use his trap. "Defensive Tactics!" The one he drew from the Continuous Spell. A circle of shields surrounded the Gladiator, negating the E-hero's attack. "During this turn, you can not damage the Gladiators." One shield broke down but it regenerated instantly. "No matter how many times you attack, it will not go through." He nearly had him too, he could have tasted it. He ended his battle phase and switched his remaining heroes to defense mode. "Assuming your turn is at an end, since you have no cards in your hand right now.

"Summon Gladial Beast Dimacari (1700/1300)" The Bull was also strengthened by the Cage field counters. "Double attack." Dimacari slayed the electric elemental, while Laquari obliterated Stratos with his flaming missiles. "Then during the end of the battle phase, Dimacari retreats to the deck. Instead Murmillo comes from the stands, to eliminate your last monster card, Wildedge." The aquatic gladiator (1000/600) could kill anything on the field, when it was special summoned from the deck by another gladiator. The fusion hero drowned in a wild torrent. At the same time a counter was placed on the Colloseum once more. For some reason though, Laquari (2000/600) stayed behind, despite the fact that his retreat would create another colloseum-counter.

"Blackmailing you may have been a waste of an offer apparently." His turn ended. "I do not suppose the same offer can be given to you?" Nero sighed and drew. "You've got humor. Too bad that this is not a comedians stage." He chuckled. "Laugh away, lets see how long it lasts. Spell card, Hope of Fifth!" He could send five E-heroes from his grave to the deck, to draw two new cards. "I send back Wildheart, Stratos, Bladedge, Wildedge and Silver." He drew, but both cards werent monster cards. "Oh and because I had nothing on my field or in my hand, when I played this spell, I can draw once more." But the third card was not a monster either. "_Gah, not even a special summon card, I have no choice_." He would have to play two more spell cards, even if it did add more counters to the scroll. "I play Future Fusion, and send four E-heroes in my deck to the grave. Two turns after this, I can finish the fusion summon. Until that time, I will use the continuous Spell, Damage-Off Zone to half all damage you give me. And a trap card just in case." In total, three counters were added to Magic Chronicle.

"Well then, lets play the game again." He removed two scrollcounters and showed the three remaining cards. "I pick Lightning Vortex. It can kill monsters but only with a discard." And right now he had no monsters anyway. "Very well." he added it to his hand. "Normal summon the Beast Andal (2300/1900) )" He called out the armored bear. "Since you love fusion so much, its only natural to receive some from your opponent as well, eh?" Jacobus gasped, he remembered now that Gladiators could fuse automatically. "The three combine into Gladiator Heraklinos, the armed animal king!" Heraklinos (3200/3000) stomped out from the arena stands, unto the sandy floors. _"Damn. I could use my trap on him, but that card can negate spells and traps if he discards a card. It wont be of use." _It roared and did not even hesitate to attack his enemy directly. "Gah!" The crowd gasped, as he received the blow from the beasts axe. "Is he gone?" Venice gulped. "No, his spell should save him." Carter replied. And he was of course correct, Damage-Off Zone cut 3200 damage points down to just 1600 points. "But you wont survive another one of those, Nero. Not as you are now.." He drew another card. "I guess not.. but.."

Nero's LP: 1400

"I will not wait for another attack. I activate Miracle Fusion!" He had five Elemental heroes in his cemetery, so he had a lot of fusion options. Unfortunately. "Heraklinos can negate a spell, if a card is discarded!" He tossed Lightning Vortex into the grave, to block the miracle spell. "Tsk. It was better then doing nothing." Though he still had no monster card. "Damn it, I end my turn." At least he could still tribute Damage-Off Zone to block all monster damage next turn, and that was something his foe also counted on. "Hmm, beginning to wonder if your performance right now, indicates fear." He smirked. "Either that, or you have pinned all your hope elsewhere. Like Future Fusion for instance.. It would be a shame to see it destroyed before it can be used properly. Luckily for you, this duelist has no more Bestiari's in his deck and no Halberds in his hand." But his expression changed all to quickly when he played a spell.

"Too bad for you, this duelist has ways of getting them back! Spell card: Gladiators Return." He sent Leonidas, a spell-killing Bestiari and Murmillo back to his deck, and drew a new card. "How Ironic.. I normal summon, Gladiator Beast Murmillo (1000/600). It might not be much, but it only needs to attack once, to allow the arrival of Bestiari." And even if Nero's spell could stop their damage, they could still exchange places with another. "Double direct attack!" The fish and the tiger charged forward. "I have to prevent this now, before they even attack. Counter trap card, Compensation for Heroics!" Suddenly the two beastwarriors ceased their charge. "This card stops the battle phase, as soon as an enemy declares an attack. And as you said, negated attackers can not retreat." He explained. Plus he would not take any damage. "You are persistant for a doomed duelist. Well go ahead, use your future fusion, it wont help."

_Compensation for Heroics, Counter Trap  
You can only activate this card when your opponent declares an attack. End your opponents battle phase. Afterwards your opponent draws one card from his/her deck, for every monster card on your side of the field._

"I will!" Two turns had passed, Future Fusion finally opened up. "I sent four E-heroes to the graveyard: earth(clayman), fire(burstinatrix), wind(avian) and water(bubbleman). To special summon E-hero Electrum(2900/2600)!" A golden warrior appeared, and its first task was to send all removed cards back to the decks. "Oh, the Chronicle!" That included the two remaining cards inside the scroll, making Edgars spell useless. "There is more, Electrum has all five elements at once, the material and its own Light-attribute. Now thanks to its third effect, it gains attackpoints if those same elements are on the opponents field. Murmillo was water, Heraklinos was Earth, both empowered the Golden Hero (3500/2600). "Finally, the spell card I just drew, Oversoul. I can revive a normal monster/E-hero in my graveyard." He ressurected Sparkman(1600/1400) "This time I get to do the attacking, Edgar Diamond! And I wont fear words, not yours!" Electrum channeled energy from every element into his fist, and used all that gathered energy to punch right through the fused Gladiator. And Sparkman fired a fats lighthing bolt to smite Murmillo, who was still in attack mode. Edgar reeled a bit from the strikes. But he was still in the game

Edgars LP: 1300

"Tsch, forget the offer. Even if you lose, your true nature will still be revealed, no more kindness.". Strangely he took out his MP player headphones at this point. "And now you can stop accusing others of cheating." He drew and placed the card he drew facedown. It was a monster, his last defense possibly. "Draw!" He obtained a spell card, which he placed facedown. "I do not have much to do, except this.." He immediately entered the battle-phase, deciding to attack with Electrum (2900/2600) first, since Diamond tended to have high-defensive monsters facedown and Sparkmans attack could finish his LP anyway. But he did not count on.. "Test Ape(600/300) is destroyed."... that. "No, he has two of them. I should have known." When the simian died, it was replaced by the exact same gladiator that he did not want to face, Hoplomus (1000/2700), whose defense was boosted further by the three counters of the Gladiators Cage. "Damn it, I end my turn." Sparkman was useless in this case.

"Heh, you came close Nero. Not quite enough mind you, but bravo." He taunted him, as he switched the rhinoceros from defense to offense. "But if you wield the power of fusion twice, so can the gladiators." Nero flinched, there was more then one fusion gladiator. "I flip face-up my spell card: Battle Manica." The rhinoceros gained the shoulder weapon, so it could not be slain in battle. "It attacks Sparkman." The earthen beast slammed into the hero with his shoulder, and while sparkman pushed it back, it resisted its own defeat with Manica. But Edgar still took 600 damage to his lifepoints. "Now that it has been in battle, it can be recalled and special summon Spartacus (2600/2000)." Only Hoplomus could special summon the Dinosaur Gladiator. It added another counter to the colloseum. Manica returned to his hand at the same time. "Spartacus allows the player to add a second combat weapon to his hand." Edgar took a Halberd from his deck. "Next, normal summon Secutor (800/700) and let the combining commence!"

Edgars LP: 700

His cannoneer lizard and the Sparta dinosaur merged into one armored warrior, the piercing dino-master Gaiodiaz, boosted by the Colloseum. (3000/1900) "Too bad for you, it is of the dark type: the one attribute that Electrum lacks. So it cant boost his powers with it." Electrum (2900/2600) was now weaker then Gaiodiaz. "Defense will not help you at this point, Nero. Gaiodiaz has a special kind of piercing power. When it kills another monster, you will lose lifepoints depending on how strong its defense is. And your life is already too low for Damage-Off Zone to be of any help." He kept both equipment cards in his hand and ended his turn. Nero was about to draw, feeling the pressure rise around him. _"Ugh, I will lose right now if I do not get a good card"_ He drew quickly, and felt a pulse run through his arm. It felt good, as if he had drawn a lifesaver. But when he looked at the card, he saw that it was a spell that he could not use right now. "Whats the matter, Hero? Are you finally through?" After all this, he still could not beat Edgar.

(To be continued in Testament 029: Nero, not Hero)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
_Elemental Hero ViceCaptain Silver_  
Elemental Hero Wildedge  
Elemental Hero Electrum

-  
E-Emergency Call  
Fifth Hope  
Future Fusion  
O-Oversoul

-  
_Compensation for Heroics_


	29. Testament 029: Nero, not Hero

Testament 029: Nero, not Hero

"Turn End.." There was nothing else to do. "Hmm" Edgar entered his turn and drew. "Spell card: Gladiators Respite." He discarded another two Gladiator cards, the equip spells which also counted, to draw three new cards. "Set a card facedown and then..." He summoned Equeste (1600/1200) back to the field. "Double strike!" Gaiodiaz targeted the golden hero. "Spell card!" And Nero activated the quickplay card: Defusion, to split his future fused elemental into the four pieces that were used to special summon it. "Burstinatrix(1200/800), Bubbleman(800/1600), Avian(1000/1000) and Clayman (800/2000) all in defense mode." But the attacks continued. "That wont work will it? Defense is defense." And the heroes with the highest defense points were slain, E-hero Bubbleman by the Centaur, and then Clayman by the Dinosaur. "Ugh, I can still do this!" He quickly activated the final power of Damage-Off Zone, tributing it and half his current lifeforce, to negate the 2000 points of effect damage done to him by Gaiodiaz.

Nero's LP: 700

"That spell includes monster effects and piercing damage as well..." Edgar said that to himself, as Nero was to nervous to explain. "Very well, you live for one more turn, but as soon as this duel is over, your reputation will forever be shattered." Nero was just silent, not responding to his threats at all. "Hmm, has your last nerve been broken at last? This is a lose-lose situation after all." He sent Equeste back to his deck, to special summon Octavius (2500/1200). The eagle and the strongest nonfusion Gladiator. "_Even if it attacks I will keep one card in my hand to pay the costs_." Nero still held his head low. "That expression suits you. Of course, the shame will cause the most pain, so timing is important." The turn passed to the hero duelist, he drew and activated Graceful Charity. "_Three cards_.."

They were all spells, HERO Flash, Spark Blaster and.. "_This!?" _The third spell was special, this was what fed him the pulse of victory during all those draw phases.Suddenly Jacobus raised his head again, and it had lost all signs of fear, he was in fact smirking. "By the by, Edgar, do you even want to know how Nero got into this place?" He then discarded the Flash spell, along with the card he drew during the previous turn. Diamond was surprised by this question. "_Did he snap or something_.." Then the duelist asked again. "I already know your story, so it is only fair that you hear his." And now it got unusual. "His? What do you mean, who else is involved?" He almost thought that Tumága had sent out multiple spies. "Oh, we did this on our own, Nero and I." He cackled. "Is this a joke? You are Nero."

"No..I am not." Nero replied.

"?!" Diamond was not the only one to gasp, even though due to unnatural circumstances, nobody else heard what Nero said. "This is." Ananka felt it, and so did Jackson..a wicked soul. "Your attempts at humor are out of place, tend to the duel first, Nero." He ended his turn. "Oh I will, I will. Heheh." He activated the equip spell on E-hero Sparkman. "Spark Blaster, eheh, time to shut your gladiator down." The electric hero grabbed his gun and fired a voltage bullet. It hit Gaiodiaz and switched him to defense. "Big deal Nero, nothing you have can overcome its defense." He stated. "Thats why we have fusion, remember?" He played a spell. "Polymerization? No...wait that is not..". Burstinatrix and Avian were merged into one new warrior. "This spell is called: Dark Fusion!" It was not a Flame wingman or a Phoenix Enforcer, it was not even a warrior type anymore. "A fused demon, the Evil Hero Inferno Wing(2100/1200)." It was one of the evil heroes, a vixen of flames. "The Dark Heroes.. I didnt think you would use...them."

"Evil heroes, why would Nero use those?" Venice asked Carter, though Colin answered first. "Guess for desperate measures." Right now Nero had been backed into a corner, this what he needed. "This demon, my demon, will not only inflict piercing damage. She can either choose offense or defense, and inflict burning damage equal to whatever your monster has! So go Inferno Wing!" The female fiend flew into the air, shrieking down towards Geordias. "Not so fast, you, I activate Gladiator Beast War Chariot!" He planned to use his infamous monster negation counter, to cancel out Inferno Wings damage inflicting powers. Gaiodiaz boarded the chariot and headed straight for the incoming Evil, aiming to take it down. "You're a fool, eheheh. Dark Fused monsters cant be targeted by effects in the first turn. But if you want to play chicken, be my guest!" The two forces collided, but due to Dark Fusion, the trap chariot crumbled first. She was free to finish off the fused Gladiator: inflicting 200 trample damage and 2600 effect damage.

Edgars LP: 0

"No, where did this..come from?" It went so fast, he had lost just like that. "No matter.. whatever you are, your confession was heard by anyone, you are discredited!" Edgar cursed. "No I am not. You see, nobody but my prey can hear what I say right now." Nero extended his hand. "And you are the prey." A glowing symbol arose on his forehead. "I can not let Nero lose yet, I need him to get to the finals. So your blackmails and cheats will only get one response." The same eye that covered the treasures of Millenium. "Penalty Game!" And all the crowd witnessed, was a sudden collapse of the duelist Edgar, while Nero just stood there.

"Not again!" The judge rushed over, assuming that someone else fell victim to sleep deprivation. Edgars mind was however stricken by more then mere exhaustion, his mind underwent a nightmarish punishment, that nobody wanted to imagine. "Ehr, the winner is Nero, still!" Edgars body was carried away by the medics, who finally had a good reason to do something. Nero was left behind, as the third round had finally ended, and the audience were bored already. Only some of his friends stayed behind, though it took a minute before they could reach him, a minute in which he was in deep thought. "_This card.._" He looked at the duel results that were recorded in his disk, and was stunned by the data about Dark Fusion and Inferno Wing. "_Its strange..I remember using them, and I remember buying them. Yet for some reason I can not think of a time that I inserted them into my deck. And what did Edgar say before the end of the match? He sounded muffled_." Alas, the only one that knew for certain that inside his mind was another personality, was the victimized Diamond himself. The 'dark' spirit clouded all words with a powerful perception distorting aura, which not even the judge could penetrate.

"Hey Nero, you had Dark Fusion all along?" Carter asked, as he, Venice and Ned neared him. "I think so." He said, probably just as confused as they were. "It sounds creepy." Gray added. "Maybe, but thats no reason to withhold it until now. I guess thats your style, pumping up drama for the sake of a good show. Thats whats Edgar has been ranting on and on about." Will would've done it differently of course. He would much rather start the duel with such spells, then end it. "Well, well, well." Ned laughed suddenly. "That bastard did it too." He opened the bag Edgar left behind, since its shape was rather conspicuous. "Laptop get." He snickered as he pulled out his favorite tool. "You thought you were clever, didn't you? But now you are unconscious and I have reclaimed what you stole. No more internet cafes for this guy, ahahah." The others just stared at him. "He is happy." Venice smiled "A bit too happy if you ask me." William joked. "Guys. I will see you later okay..I need to..think a little." Nero said quickly and walked off.

But soon afterwards he bumped into Christine Rose. "Oh hey..you are Nero Jacobus huh?" He was so distracted he did not notice her until she was right in his face. "Eh, yeah?" He then remembered the bracket. "You must be here, because I am your opponent for the first duel in the main arena." Rose nodded. "Of course, this time I want to know my enemies before-hand. I mean, I was worried at first, since you seem like such a hero-type. But if you use demonic fusions too, the match will be even more exciting!" She grinned. "Oh you mean, the evil heroes." He sighed, not sure what to think of having an image like that. "Well, I look forward to it. But first... have you seen a phone booth in town? I need to call my folks." And all the company lines were occupied. "Ehr, no sorry. Never bothered to look." Mostly because he rarely kept in touch with his own family. "Oh well. Thanks anyway, see ya tomorrow." She ran off into the village. "_That reminds me, why do I always have to fight the people that defeat my friends?"_

Meanwhile on the other side of the sea, at Tum'aga's tower headquarters, Simone received the latest report on the tournament. "So Edgar lost, did he? Tsch, that was a fine waste of tax payers money." She scoffed, and took a zip from her glass. "Not that it bothers me, he was expendable. After all, we already sent another infiltrant ages ago. And the fact that someone beat that cheat-happy Diamond, means that someone in that contest is too skilled for his own good. It does not make a difference who wins, the company will be a part of ours, and then the true fun begins. Yet I suppose we should keep things under control. Make sure that nobody skips town while we are doing our operation, we need all of them present for the big bang," She cackled. "Yes mam, but we have more news then that." The minion said. "Oh, even more?" She turned around. "Yes mam. 'Kartel' reports a run-in with a level 11 suspect, it resulted in the death of one of our operatives." Hearing this, she simply smirked. "Level 11, thats nice for him."

As night fell, everyone reaped their rewards from the third round, while others recovered from their losses. Rose was pleased with her latest acquisition, the strongest of all baker cards. After she had reported her victory to her home, she went straight to the shops to exchange DP for the ultimate Nelson card. Even though she still lacked the ghost rare of that series. Ananka and Jackson were less enthusiastic, as both of them were troubled by the strange sensation they felt at the arena today. And off the ones that did not succeed, only Venice kept an upbeat attitude, Cleo was pissed off, mostly at herself. And Edgar was in a deeper sleep then Stefan, Glyphs victim, who still had not recovered. The doctors hired by Outerdeck were unable to help them.

Colin was also one of the losers, as he failed to beat the near-schizophrenic Jackson. Afterwards he returned to his magic shop, to stuff everything back in his bags. "Tsch, I dont see any reason to stay here anymore. I already know who will win" He looked at the tarot cards on his deck, the Wheel of Fortune in particular. "Nero will lose, Jackson will lose. Considering Ananka's insane streak of fortune, she might as well win it all" The polls on the net largely favored her over the others anyway. "So I cant taunt her either, gah." He slammed his table, causing one of the cards to drop to the ground. "Hrm..the hanged man? That cant be good, or in my case..." And as he picked it up, he heard a sound in the distance. "Eh?" He saw another gamer walking away, holding a suitcase of his own, it was the sports jock bastion Hera, who had enough of this game and wanted to leave too. "Mind your business." He grunted as he noticed that Colin stared at him.

"Psh, you are not that interesting." Sairve shrugged. Bastion spat and continued on his path. "_Tsch, that bitch cheated, I know she did. But the judges all ignored me, calling me a bitter loser. I dont lose!"_ He thought as he stomped the street a few times. "I do not need to stay here, I do not!" He then yelled into the dark streets. "...where the hell is the exit anyway?" He looked around, and caught a glimpse of a bus stop. "Ah!" He raced for it, but once he arrived he saw that there were no buses scheduled for the week. "This is crap, why." And his stream of insults was cut off by a person behind. "Leaving so soon?" Asked one of the mysterious white coats, whose uniform gave off an eerie glow under the pale moonlight. "Why do you care, who are you anyway, an officiant?" He shook his head. "No? Then leave me alone." Hera turned away, only to smack against an invisible forcefield, which pushed him back. "What the." He looked at the stranger. "I cant let you leave, duelist 0045, but now...I cant let you return either." He reached for his pocket.

Back at Nero's apartment, the duelist was all alone in his sleepless venture, as William was still the hotels earliest sleeper. In his hands was a mobile phone he borrowed from Carter. But he could not get in touch with his parents. "_I dont feel right with this.."_ He sighed to himself. Next he wanted to check the cards in his deck, but for some reason he felt that he could not. "_Did Edgar faint, because of me?"_ He knew it was crazy to think stuff like that, but something similar happened to Cleo, and she was not talkative about that match at all. "_My next opponent is, Rose. Venice said that she was a nice person...what if the same thing happens to her_" He could not stop thinking it was somehow related to him, and the fact that the judge had cleared him into the match. And just as he passed that memory, an image flashed in his mind, an image of that now terrifying Pulse. "_What?"_ he jumped up from his chair, falling backwards. "What was that?" Nobody answered, Will continued snoring. "_Pulse, he was the one that...what happened to him?"_ He had to find out, so he left the room. Nero did not return the next morning.

"Gga." Hera coughed and then slumped to the floor, his skin turned almost white as a sheet. "Feh, that should not happen to many times." The white coat complained, and put the strange weapon back in his pocket. "Hrm coincidence or eye for an eye? Some freak explodes one of our men, so we take out one duelist, sounds fair." He then activated his wristwatch and opened a link to HQ. "Yeah, we got a leaver, I captured him. We'd better make up some fake report of him leaving by airplane, and send someone to pick up the body."

**New Cards used by Nero jacobus  
**Evil Hero - Inferno Wing

-  
Graceful Charity  
Spark Gun  
Dark Fusion


	30. Testament 030: Tarot VS Tarot

Testament 030: Tarot VS Tarot

And so it was made to look like Bastion Hera had met with a less then grisly fate. The only thing that people knew about him, was that he left England on the next plane at the nearest airport, courtesy of Outerdeck of course. At the same time the PA anounced that there had been a malfunction in one of the stadium energy generators. So the basement of Arena B was off-limits for now. To the others, none the wiser, this was nothing that could get in their way of preparations. There were just four duelists now, and one of them was nowhere to be found. "Nero?" Carter yawned. At first he thought his own sleep had been fooling his vision, but then he realized Jacobus really was gone. "Strange, maybe he was too excited and left already?" He readied himself. Though as he walked down the hotel, he found out that nobody had seen him since last night. The staff did not even notice that he walked out of the building in the first place. "I hope he is okay." Venice said. "Me too, I would hate to win due to a lack of competition." Rose sighed.

"He will turn up, he would not want to miss..this?" He tried to assure them, but he was distracted by a loud noise. They recognized that sound. "Its the blimp again?" Indeed, the airbound vehicle hovered above the city once more, its large screen showing the face of the OD representative a second time. "Greetings children and gamers, enthusiasts and observers. I hope you all remember to come to the main arena today, because not only will we hold the semifinals there today, but the finals as well. Thats right, you heard me well, the two semifinals are between 10 PM and 12 AM, the final duel will start at 3 PM. The schedule has been moved up to maximize the amount of excitement you can all experience today. And who knows, maybe your favorite spokesman will make an appearance as well eh? I look forward to seeing you there." The zeppelin then turned around and floated towards the main stadium. "Moved up schedule? Are they in a rush or something?"

Regardless, spirits were high when everyone entered the stands for what would be the final day in this duel-filled week. Though it was still early, and the number of people still had to grow before the yells would become as deafening like the day before. The first match of the day was one that everyone should have seen coming, the showdown between the seeress Ananka De La Isla, and the symbolist Jackson Doe. It was as if fate itself ordained both sets of Arcana decks to test their strengths. Of course neither player would take the duel in a light way. Ananka did most of the talking at first. "You are Jackson Doe...and you feel odd. There is something strange about your future, I can not see it as a straight line." She told the man, who responded with a calm shrug. "But that act wont do, not against me. Despite your unusual aura, I will not hold back." Doe nodded, and then the judge saw that it was time to begin. "Are you ready, okay then. Here is the first semifinal: Ananka de la Isla VS Jackson Doe!"

They both drew five cards, and Jackson gestured her to go first, but she declined. "I never keep a worthy opponent waiting." She explained, allowing him to draw a sixth card. He placed a monster card facedown, and ended his turn. "_He is still silent? Must be because he has not summoned anything yet_." There in the crowd was Glyphs shadowy friend. "_He sure likes to clown around with those 'roles' of his_." They all believed his strange personality flux was a mere gimmick, but this one knew better. "No spells or traps? I wonder.." She drew, and summoned Arcana Force VII, the Chariot (1700/1700). It revolved into an upright position, thanks to her good luck necklace. "The seventeenth force attacks!" The mechanical fairy fired lasers from its eyes and hands, which decimated a small soul shaped like a water drop. "Soul Decoy (200/100)" Doe spoke quickly, in the instant that his monster was on the field. Its effect allowed him to add a LV.4 Arcana from his deck to his hand, which was the power of Soul Decoy. "Hmm, I had hoped for something stronger, for the Chariot that is..." Of course, then The Chariots effect activated, and she could revive the decoy (200/100) to her field as a slave of The Chariot. "Set trap card, turn end." She smiled

_Soul Decoy 1/200/100 Dark/Fiend  
When this card is sent to the graveyard, choose one Persona monster card of level 4 or less, and add it to your hand. The deck is then shuffled._

".." Jackson drew, and then he summoned the monster card which he added to his hand in the previous turn. "The Priestess symbol: Scathach" He said with a calm and hollow tone of voice, as he called the kneeling magician, wrapped in a black cloak and hat (1500/1500). The last effect to be activated was Chariots monster stealing power, so.. "Its monster effect is turned on: I discard one monster card from my hand, and destroy all face-up monster cards, except for this card." He threw away Siegfried. "Such an outcome will not be allowed, counter trap card!" Yet Ananka flipped Hierophants Wand, to negate the destructive effects of Scathach, in return Doe could draw one card from his hand again. "If thats how you want it to be." With his initial plan thwarted, he had no choice but to rely on brute strength. "I will kill that traitor then, destroy Soul Decoy." And what he said, was followed by the priestess symbol, who killed it with ease. Afterwards he placed two trap cards of his own facedown, and passed the turn back to her

_Scathach, Symbol of the Priestess 4/1500/1500 Dark/Spellcaster__/Persona  
__Only one 'Persona' card of the same name can be on the field at the same time._  
_This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: Discard one monster card from your hand. Destroy all face-up monster cards on the field, except for this card.  
Spell: Discard one spell card from your hand. Destroy all face-up spell cards on the field.  
Trap: Discard one trap card from your hand. Destroy all face-up trap card cards on the field._

"Hmm, you have me at a disadvantage, my monsters have a 50 chance at getting a negative effect." She drew and then she summoned "Arcana Force I, the Magician (1100/1000)" It was a jester-like Arcana, who revolved into an upright position. "The positive effect: When this card attacks in a turn in which I used a spell card, its attackpower is doubled. A spell like this: Pentacle of Ace." It was a normal spell with an effect similar to that of Arcana Forces, and the Ace of Cups. A coin appeared which revolved around as well. It ended upright. "Now I can draw 1 card from my deck, and if its a spell or trap card, I gain 500 lifepoints." She said, however she only drew a monster card. "The one thing I can not predict, I guess" But her Mage gained attackpoints (2200/1100).

_Pentacle of Ace, Normal Spell  
Toss a coin.  
Heads: Draw a card from your deck, and increase your lifepoints by 500 if you draw a spell or trap card.  
Tails: Your opponent draws a card from his deck and increases his lifepoints by 500._

"First The Chariot strikes!" Number seven raised its claws, aiming to kill and enslave Scathach. "Reveal trap." But Doe had an answer for that. "Alteration of One's mind. Every time you attack one of the symbols, the attackers will lose 500 attackpoints." The woman gasped, as The Chariot was weakened (1200/1700) and then the backlash of its own strike killed it. Ananka then calculated that if she attacked with The Magician, its original attack would be 600 instead of 1100, so its doubled attack would be 1200. "Thats to low to continue this battle phase. But in my main phase 2, I can use this." She activated the spell card, Divination of Fate, "I can special summon an Arcana Force from my hand, because I could not inflict battle damage this turn." The card she summoned appeared in upright position of course. "I special summon Arcana Force IV, The Emperor (1400/1400). Its upright effect powers up all Major Arcana on my side of the field, by 500 points. (Emperor: 1900/1900, Magician :1600/1600).

_Alteration from One's Mind, Continuous Trap  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona' monster card. As long as this card remains on the field, when a monster declares an attack  
on a Persona monster card, during the battle step, reduce the original attack of the attacking monster by 500._

"Now of course, you will want to use Scathachs monster effect again. But.." Suddenly she played the Cup of Ace, which ended up on its head-side. "Draw two cards." She refilled her hand, while the Priestess returned to spell-mode. "Damn she is as annoying as ever." Colin sulked, as he took his seat. "You came here to see her lose, I reckon." Carter chuckled. "Maybe. Its about the only reason I am still here. Because there is 50 chance she will be defeated today." He did not have a high hopes for it. "My turn." Jackson looked at his monster. "No spells to destroy.." Then Doe used his main phase for a tribute summon. "Sacrifice Scathach, for the Symbol of Fortune, Norn(2200/2200)" The dark priestess was replaced by trio of motionless fairies, who carried around a ticking clock. Unfortunately its spell effect was its negative effect. "I... it attacks, The Emperor." They flew over to the enemy's field, and blasted the Arcana into nonrecognition. The monster could no longer boost the attackpoints of others (Magician: 1100/1100).

Ananka's LP: 7400

_Norn, Symbol of the Fortune 5/2200/2000 Wind/Fairy__/Persona  
__Only one 'Persona' card of the same name can be on the field at the same time.__  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: Each time your opponent draws a card, he must show it to this card's controller.  
Spell: Each time you draw a card, you must show it to your opponent.  
Trap: Each time your opponent draws a card, pay 1000 LP to draw one card from your deck._

"You can not fool me, you know. I know your secret Jackson Doe." She said suddenly. "Do you now?" He spoke back with a much more static and yet joyful attitude. "Yes, I can see them. And I am curious, what will happen if I do this?" She then sacrificed The Magician, who was helpless before Norn anyway, for Arcana Force XI The Strength (2100/2100) "What happens if your strengths, are taken away from you? You seem to depend more on your tarots, then I do on mine." The Strength was in its upright position, so it could take control of one monster per turn, if it started the battle phase. "Come to me, Norn." The fortune wheel symbol ended up as her ally instead, and Doe reverted to his mute phase. In this situation, Alteration of One's Mind could not decrease attackpoints. "I daresay that your deck would suit me better, just how deep is your connection?" She asked, not just to him, but to Norn as well. She stared at the monster card, and it stared back. "You can...hear us..you can see us?" It was.. surprised.

To the untrained eye, it would look like Ananka had started talking to thin air. "Oh now what is she doing?" Not even Colin could figure it out, and he was the most suspicious of them all. "She is just as weird as that Jackson, that kid isn't normal" In actuality, she was trying to converse with the Persona spirit that was now under her control, but Norn just stared at her. "Not talking anymore, sorry to hear that." Ananka halfsmiled. "Then I will ask Jackson, why he hosts more then one soul." She glared at the vessel, but he did not speak. Instead the fortune symbol stopped her own silence, and responded. "Jackson can not answer now, he talks through us. Thats all you need to know." She said, and looked away again. "So I was right... Interesting." It seemed this tournament drew even more unusual duelists, besides her and Cleo. "But even with this odd power of yours, fate can not be vanquished. I will win this!" Norn was forced to attack her own master, along with Arcana Force XI The Strength, and he could not stop it either.

Jackson Doe's LP: 3700

She then ended her turn, but when Jackson drew, it was she that could use the power of Fortune. Norn was now in her monster form, so Jackson was forced to reveal to her the card. "Your draws are seen by my eyes." The card he drew was a trap card, which she failed to recognize. "Of course it would help if I knew more about this deck type. I wonder where it came from, considering its connected to you so deeply." He just sighed and placed the trap card facedown, and then he summoned the symbol of The Tower, Shiva. "This turn, I will not attack. Your move." He said with a cold tone. While the audience just wondered why he insisted on summoning all of his monster cards in face-up attack mode, as it looked now, he would lose in the next turn. "This has to be a trap, she can see that right?" Carter said to himself. Then she entered her turn, and immediately took control of the icy god Persona, with The Strength. "But one by one, they all come to me." Shiva gave the woman a grim glare, while Norn seemed to sigh as one more spirit joined her fate.

"And such nice rewards should not be wasted." Her Arcana struck first, swiping across the unfortunate symbol-deprived duelist. "This is it, you will lose by the hands of your own creation!" She grinned as the doll symbol raised its arms. "No!" But at the last second he activated his trap card, when he received the damage from The Strength. "Damage equals Soul Energy!" He absorbed the damage, into his deck. It was the attacking monster card that spoke to the seeress now. His trap card activated, and now he could summon a monster from his deck, who had attackpower equal to or less then the monster that hit him. "And he summons, the symbol of the Hermit, Arahakiba" The Claydoll (600/500) stood in the way of both Norn and Shiva. "And now I will do the talking." Suddenly Jackson took on a slow almost bored sounding voice. "You will cease stealing away the Personalities right here and now Ananka. This goes deeper then you can imagine. And we too, can not lose here.."

_Damage equals Soul Energy, Normal Trap  
You can only activate this card when you receive damage to your life points. Special summon a 'Persona monster' card from your deck whose attack is equal or less than the damage you received. Then, you can choose one card type(Monster, Spell or Trap), and the special summoned Persona monster gains the effect of the chosen type._

Somewhere else, far far away, certain secret actitivities were taken. Therewas a horrible place, with nightmares thankfully covered by the darkest of shadows. Only a sickening green neon glow, and a nauseating scent-traumatizing fume decorated this ghastly area. It was here that the chief lived out his fun, performed his inhuman tasks in the name of Creed. This was Cadrons level, Cadron, the leader of the white coats. His place was in the darkest deepest bowels of Tum'aga's main tower. There he could be ignored by the Creed siblings, yet continue to deliver porgressive work for them. He just received a message, the first of this day. "Now what?" He opened the comlink, and bright flash filled the room, putting the normally blurry figure in a spotlight for one instant. He too wore a white coat, one pocket had a pen, the other a strange necklace. One of his hands was gloved, the other was fused with mechanics. Though his most unusual feature was his missing left eye, over which he placed an eyepatch.

His one remaining eye now saw an unwelcome sight. "Hello Cadron." Glyph smirked. "You again... I should have expected you to survive my human bombs" The scientist cackled. "Of course I did, one does not live as long as me, if he were a fool." He smirked back. "How did you...open this link though?" The man asked. "Simple, I brainwashed your lackey and asked him to tell me how to open a line. You can't blow him up, if I get to him first." Cadron just yawned. "Fine then, I suppose you got your chance to talk to me, thats about all you can do." But that was all he wanted to do. "Well talking is good, because I think you can tell me lots of things..like..who has the seven items. I am sure your company knows something about that, eheh."

(To be continued in Testament 031: As the World Turns)

**New Cards used by Ananka de la Isla**  
Arcana Force I The Magician

-  
_Pentacle of Ace_

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**  
_Soul Decoy_  
_Symbol of the Priestess - Scathach_  
_Symbol of the Fortune - Norn_

_-_  
_Alteration of One's Mind_  
_Damage equals Soul Energy_


	31. Testament 031: As the World Turns

Testament 031: As the World Turns

"_Heh, seems I missed all the festivities_." Nero thought as he re-entered the main arena, having returned from his self-imposed absence. Or rather, it was the dark personality within Nero that had returned, if only for a few more moments. "_But thats what happens when my vessel is so full of fear. It takes a while to get full control._" Until now he could only take over for short periods, up to ten minutes. Nero then stared into the distance, sensing something interesting. "_That feels like..Glyph, so he survived that supposed miscalculated explosion. Heh, maybe he made an interesting discovery of his own_." He could feel what the street magician was up too, since he had gotten to know him better in their first few meetings. He was the stranger that proposed a union of powers two days ago, and he already received his gift. "_Now then, lets see who wins here. He or she is bound to face me in the finals, heh_." He then shifted back control to an oblivious Nero. "Huh? Oh I am here already.." Who had only feint memories of how he got here.

"This trap.." Arahabaki Doe pointed at the Damage Equalizer. "It will also decide what mode I operate in. I choose the trap effect." Since Arahabaki had been special summoned to defense mode, its defense(600/2400) was what mattered. Ïn this mode my defense becomes too high for you to overcome" Neither of the stolen Symbols would have to attack their host now. "But I am not through, I fear I will have to be without mercy." She played another card from her hand. "I sacrifice both your monsters, to tribute summon the seventeenth major Arcana. The Star!" The Persona's gasped as they were replaced with a winged entity, with five limbs and five eyes on its back. It was Arcana Force XVII The Star (2700/2700) It spun into the upright position. "Now you can deal with this, master of many souls." She ended her turn.

_Arcana Force XVII The Star 8/2700/2700 Light/Fairy  
When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
Heads: When this card attacks you can select one card in your opponents hand and look at it,  
if its a spell or trap card increase this cards attackpoints by 1000 until the end of your battlephase.  
Tails: As long as this card is face-up on the field, you must show your hand to your opponent, this cards attackpoints can not be increased by spell or trap cards._

"Then, I shall face your Star, with mine." He activated a card on his field, the spell Research from One's Mind. "This spell requires a sacrifice. I will be offered for 'him'." The Hermit spoke as he disappeared, and Doe started drawing cards from his deck. "He will keep doing this, until he draws one of his symbols" He got one and discarded the other spell and trap cards. "In his place, comes I." And a shining light blasted through the clouds. "The symbol of the stars, Lucifer!" Doe and the angel shouted in unison as the fallen one(3000/1600) stepped on the platform. Just like the trap, the Research Spell could give it any effect he wanted. "Lucifer, isnt that...the devil?" Venice shivered. "He doesnt look so satanic to me." Rose shrugged. "I could slay that pathetic Star at any time. But first I will exterminate he who dares to take the life that is not his." He looked at The Strength, extended his hand, and reduced him to ashes with one flame burst. "Its annoying that your Arcana arent as linear as mine, your version of The Star has more power."

Ananka's LP: 6800

_Research for One's Mind, Normal Spell  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona monster' card. Tribute one 'Persona' monster card on your side of the field, then draw cards from your deck until you draw a Persona monster, and special summon that monster on your side of the field(all other drawn cards are sent to the graveyard). Then, choose one card type(Monster, Spell or Trap). The chosen type becomes the chosen effect of the Persona monster summoned through this card's effect._

_Lucifer, Symbol of the Star 8/3000/1600 Dark/Fiend/Persona  
Only one Persona card of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
You can normal summon this monster without tributes If summoned this way, the monsters attack and defense are halved.  
Monster: When the last effect resolves, search your deck for one Persona monster, and add it to your hand.  
Spell: When the last effect resolves, search your deck for one normal spell or trap card, and add it to your hand.  
Trap: When the last effect resolves, remove the top card on your deck from play.  
You can only add one card to your hand per turn. If any of these effects are activated, this monster loses 500 attack and defense points._

She drew. And placed one monster down in defense position. "But your monster has a weakness as well. It seems its attack is reduced every time a monster effect is activated. And if you read the effect of my card, you will know that when my Star attacks, it can gain 1000 attackpoints. Next yours loses 500, not even your continuous trap card will help against that." She entered the battle phase and the Arcana fired star flares from its claws. "Now let me see your hand!" He had three cards in his hand, she selected the middle one. It was the quickplay spell Dark Hour. "When I select a spell, The Star gains 1000 attackpoints." It powered up, while being powered down by Alteration at the same time (3200/2700) "You dare lay a hand on me?" The angel (2500/2000) snorted as he drew a monster card from his deck with his effect and flipped his trap. "The spirits will shield me, Protection from one's Mind!" He blocked the attack with this trap card. "The souls you stole safeguarded me." He sent two Persona's: Norn and Shiva back to his deck.

_Protection from One's Mind, Normal Trap  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona' monster card. You can only activate this effect when a 'Persona' monster card is attacked by an opponent's monster. Send two 'Persona' monster cards from your graveyard back to your deck, and negate that attack._

That was the cost for that trap. The Arcana Star retreated, and its power shifted back to base (2700/2700). "Its my turn." Lucifer Doe yelled and activated a field spell card, a tower. "Tower of the Tartarus! As long as this card is active, I get to choose what effect a symbol has. Furthermore it strengthens my field!" Lucifer powered up again, by 200 points (2700/2000), both Stars were now equal. "Let this end the showdown of the seventeenth arcana!" He normal summoned a lv.4 Arcana, Orpheus the Fool (1300/1700), who was given his monster mode. "Be gone, foul imitation!" Lucifer and The Star collided. "What? Now they will both die!" She protested. "Nonsense, I can not die. Behold the power of the spell you divined, Dark hour!" Yet only her Star fell in battle. "This spell negates the death of myself. And now a double direct attack. Orpheus has his monster effect and can strike twice." And Orpheus hit her twice. "This is our power!" Ananka just cringed, this battle was not going in her favor anymore. "I will put an end to this."

Ananka's LP: 4200

_Tartarus Tower, Field Spell  
As long as this card is on the field, all 'Persona' monster cards gain 200 attack and defense points. As long as this card is face-up on the field, once per turn, you may choose one card type(Monster, Spell or Trap). The chosen type becomes the chosen effect of all 'Persona' monster cards on both sides of the field._

_Orpheus, Symbol of the Fool 4/1100/1500 Dark/Spellcaster/Persona  
__Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
__This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a 'Persona' monster.  
Monster: This card can attack twice in the same battle phase.  
Spell: Increase this cards attack by 1000 during the battle phase.  
Trap: This card can not declare an attack._

_The Dark Hour, Quickplay Spell  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona' monster card. If a 'Persona' monster card would be destroyed and sent to the graveyard, activate this card. The chosen 'Persona' monster card remains on the field. And if it was destroyed as a result of battle, immediately destroy the monster card that destroyed it._

First she placed a trap card and summoned Arcana Force IX The Hermit(1900/1900). "Spell card, Magicians Scales... I can sacrifice one Arcana Force on my field to add one spell from my deck to my hand." She tributed The Hermit and searched her deck. At the same time Lucifers effect went off, he gave up 500 more points (2200/1200) to add an 'Evoker' spell card to his hand. "I use this spell card, Reverse Reborn, to revive an Arcana Force from my graveyard. I choose The Star!" Arcana Force XVII emerged from the cemetery, staring straight at his master, because it was reverse summoned. The negative effect was that her hand had to be placed out in the open, but she had only one card in her hand anyway. "Now.. Mystical Typhoon, I use this to destroy Alteration from One's Mind." The third spell blew away the attack decreasing continuous trap. Luckily the Persona could only react to one spell card every turn. "Kill it, once and for all!" She yelled and the fallen angel was slain by a volley of flarestars from Force XVII.

_The Magicians Scales, Normal Spell  
Tribute 1 'Arcana Force' monster. Select 1 spell card from your deck and add it to your hand._

Jacksons LP: 1100

"Curse you woman, you shall pay for this blasphemy." He cursed before he shifted to the other Persona on the field. "Woo, not fun." He said with a sillier tone, as he was now symbolized by the Fool. "My turn, my turn, summon the Persona Summoner(1500/1500)...hee word loop." He laughed. "As long as this card is on the field all symbols will have but one effect. Though right now no effect could help Orpheus in his fight against The Star. Which was probably why Doe switched Orpheus to defense mode. "Also, you cant attack a Persona Summoner, as long as a Persona exists, nope nope." Ananka just stared at him, she knew it was a part of the major tarot cards, The Fool. But if it made him act that insane, he should probably not have played it. "_Also, why did he not use The Evoker spell card? I know that it revives monster cards, he could have brought back Lucifer..but he did not._" She just shrugged and entered her turn. "I dont know if this is a trap, fate can not tell me that, but I shall follow the straight path!"

_Persona Summoner 4/1500/1500 Dark/Spellcaster  
As long as this card remains face-up on the field, you may choose one card type(Monster, Spell or Trap). The chosen type becomes the chosen effect of all Persona monsters on both sides of the field. This effect can only be activated once per turn. This monster cannot be attacked if there is a Persona monster on your side of the field._

She drew, and smiled. "You will be the second to see this." She sacrificed both The Star and her facedown Arcana Force VIII Justice (1800/1800), who was not flipped so she did not trigger either her facedown or upright effect. "Tribute summon, The World!" And then came the card that vanquished Cleo's streak of victories. Cleo herself twitched a little when she saw it again. "Arcana Force XI, the strongest of all (3100/3100), it revolves and hits its upright effect!" She said as if she knew it would happen, which of course it did. "Now, since I can not attack anything besides, Orpheus." The World started to light up with, gathering space energy within its hands. Then it released a bright ring which slashed through the symbol. "..." Since Persona Summoner was not an actual symbol, Doe was person-less and reverted to his old stoic self. "Turn end"

But he raised a finger, and pointed at his graveyard. "Hnn, whats he doing?" In his turn, he played not one, but two Evoker spell cards. "Whoa, he had two of them?" The crowd gasped. So he revived Lucifer (3200/2200) and Orpheus (1100/1500). "_I see, he drew the second one just now, and saved the first. Normally evoked cards die in the same turn, so he must want to..offer them_." Carter theorized, and his theory was proven right when Doe sacrificed all three monster cards. "Your time has come, Ananka de la Isla." He stated ominously as she started to feel some strange suffocating aura around her. "Thanatos, symbol of the Death (3500/3500)" He had summoned the strongest Persona in his deck, deciding to meet her ultimate Arcana with his. Using the Tartarus tower, he then gave it the monster effect. "So, Death is your strongest force, Jackson Doe. That says something about you.." He did not reply at al, and went straight for the kill. "!" Thanatos raised his longsword and forced it down.

_Thanatos, Symbol of the Death 9/3500/3500 Dark/Fiend/Persona  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
You must tribute three monsters in order to tribute summon this monster. This monster cannot be special summoned except by it's own effect.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a 'Persona' monster.  
Monster: If this card is destroyed by a monster effect, at the end phase of the turn this card is destroyed, special summon it in face-up attack mode.  
Spell: If this card is destroyed by a spell card, at the end phase of the turn this card is destroyed, special summon it in face-up attack mode.  
Trap: If this card is destroyed by a trap card, at the end phase of the turn this card is destroyed, special summon it in face-up attack mode  
If this card is special summoned, its original attack and defense become 2400._

"But mine is The World, and it will not fall to the end of life! Trap card Waboku!" She flipped her damage negating card, to send the deathsymbol away from his lethal intentions. "That was close." Thanatos sheathed his weapon. "So you run from death. My child, you should not run." He still spoke with his disturbing and echoing voice, it even freaked out the one that believed he was acting. "Give the man an oscar." The judge muttered to himself. "I do not run from death, if that is to be my fate I shall glady accept it. But whatever you are, you are not 'it'." She drew again, it was the only card in her hand. "What I see is a collection of spirits, still lingering in this world, using a mere vessel. I do not know why you linger here, but I shall not accept your future, for it is not me who will lose."

She then did the strangest thing, sacrificing The World, for a lesser Arcana. "The condemned is you." She had called out number twelve, The Hanged Man (2300/2200). "Fate is on my side, yours ends here." It started revolving, and if it hit its upright effect, she could not only kill Thanatos, she could also inflict 3500 damage to his lifepoints. Even if Death could revive itself, his lifeforce would still be reduced to nothing. However if it was turned facedown, she would have to kill her own monster..and it did. "What?" The Hanged Man looked at her, not her enemy. "It faced down!" She gasped, and then the Arcana used his own rope-like extensions, to hang itself. While she lost 2200 lifepoints and her last monster. "This cant be, I.." She held unto the necklace, looking at it with disbelief. It had never failed her until now.

Ananka's LP: 2000

Only millenium users could influence it, and Doe did not appear to be one. "As I told you, you can not avoid death, child. This is the fate that has been ordained for you.." She finally had to accept it, her Arcana had failed her, because it wanted too. "But why, why doesn't it want me to reach the finals, why does it favor him, them?" Left without any defenses, the outcome of the duel was clear. And since her fighting spirit had been broken by future's rejection, she layed her hand on her deck and lowered her head. "I surrender, I can not win this." This did not come as a surprise to the judge, who anounced her defeat. Then as the duels end had been ascertained, and the holograms were terminated, did Doe completely shift back to his normal self. He gave the woman a thumbs up, telling her in his way that she had been a great duelist to fight against. "..Thanks.. I just wish I understood more of you. Then maybe I could find out why my item refused me at the last minute, and why only then." He did not know. "Maybe it has to do with that strange sensastion I felt yesterday," She whispered. And he nodded to that as well. "Then you felt it too." Yet neither knew what it could be.

Ananka's LP: 0

(To be continued in Testament 032: Never Fear)

**New Cards used by Ananka de la Isla**  
_Arcana Force XVII The Star_

_-_  
_The Magicians Scales (+)_

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**  
_Symbol of the Star - Lucifer_  
_Symbol of the Fool - Orpheus_  
_Persona Summoner_  
_Symbol of the Death - Thanatos_

_-_  
_Research for One's Mind_  
_Tartarus Tower_  
_The Dark Hour_

_-_  
_Protection from One's Mind_

(+) Based on the spell card used by saiou/Sartorius in the GX anime


	32. Testament 032: Never Fear

Testament 032: Never Fear

On top of the stands, Nero's return had finally been noted. "Hey man, where the hell were you? Its not smart to not follow duels." Carter complained. "Miss Rose would be upset if you did." Venice added. "Guys..I just had to do some..soulsearching." He said calmly, and looked to the distance, where an eager Christine Rose stood. "_Is she...next?"_ His fears had not disappeared yet. "There will be a ten-minute break between duels. Then the second semifinal can commence!" The judge anounced, allowing the people to leave their seats for a quick drink and snack. The main arena had more foodbars then all other side stages combined. "Tsch foolishness. They finally get enough sense to speed things up for those that dont want to watch, and then they slow it down again." Cleo rasped to herself. She was the most bored of them all. As much as she hated the game, she would rather play it, then watch it. "_Tsch, at least miss 'I have the superior absurd item' got taken down_."

Nero meanwhile waited in the stands, sitting on a bench, thinking all by himself. His friends had gone off to get some lunch as well, though strangely Ned was still nowhere to be seen. Carter simply suggested that he was making up for lost internet time. However that was not his main concern, it was his own confusion that troubled him. "This deck." He had searched all 40 cards and saw no 'Dark Fusion' anywhere. Yet the duel records clearly showed that he had spent DP on such cards, yesterday and the day before. "_Maybe I am over-reacting, maybe Edgar just fainted due to something not related to me._" He sighed, it just did not make sense that way, but he had to believe it in order to avoid a fear that could cost him the next duel. "_I should not hold back, I came too far now_."

Then the time came when the judge called him to the platform, as Rose was already there waiting for him. "Good luck to the both of you." His companions waved, and he just calmly smiled back. Then he stepped up to the dueling floor. "Ah there you are, Nero. Are you as excited as I am? The one who wins this goes to the finals." Rose seemed to be as enthusiastic as ever, not worried about other matters besides the game, not at all. "It is that close already huh." He did not realize it himself, til now. "Well, do not hold back against me. I have seen what you can do, and I look forward to facing those cards myself." She smirked, not knowing that she was almost literally inviting him to use his evil side. "I hope it wont come to that." He said under his breath, and then the two activated their dueldisks. "The duel commences, the last of the semifinals! Christine Rose against Nero Jacobus, which one of these will face Jackson Doe for the championship title? Find out, right now!" They drew their cards and their lifepoints were set.

Christine's LP: 8000 Nero's LP: 8000

"I have not faced a boy-duelist in a while though. Normally I allow my opponents to go first." She said. "Well, in that case I request that you start off." Nero responded. "Hee, chivalry is the prerequisite of a hero." She grinned and placed a monster in facedown defense mode, and she also placed a trap card. "Here you go Nero, lets see what you do with this." Jacobus nodded and drew his cards as well. "Well, I guess I might as well begin with the power of fusion." He activated Polymerization, sending Necroshade and Sparkman in his hand to the graveyard. "I combine the forces of light and darkness, to special summon E-hero Darkbright from my deck (2000/1000). This card has the power to pierce the opposing monster." So Darkbright Man charged and electrified her facedown card, Zane Baker (1800/1900) with black bolts. "Hmm, I had hoped that my high defense would slow you down." She lost only 100 lifepoints though. "Then at the end of the damage step, Darkbright is switched to defense mode."

Christine's LP: 7900

"My turn!" She drew and summoned a card that Nero had not seen yet. "Julie, the elemental warrior of Fire(1900/1700). She is not related to the Baker family, but like Kyle Baxter, she is a valuable ally. Plus she kinda has a crush on John." She added. "But we're not here to discuss the novels, so Its time to activate this equip spell: Flare Edge." Julie clenched a fiiery blade within her hands, which powered her by 800 points (2700/1700). "Defeat the enemy of light and darkness!" She yelled and Julie cut through the Elemental with the Flare weapon. "You activated the effect of my monster card." Nero said, as a second hologram emerged from the dying monster card. "When Darkbright is killed, his ghost kills one other monster on the field." The second image entered Julie's body and destroyed her from the inside out. "I should have expected some trickery. Its okay though." She flipped her trap, Soul Rope. "This card special summons a monster from my deck, if I pay 1000 LP when one of my monsters is destroyed." She called out the Queens Knight (1500/1600) "And also Julie is made of sterner stuff then that, watch this Nero!" Next Rose discarded a card from her hand, and Julie returned to the field. "Eh?"

Christine's LP: 6900

_Julie - Elemental Warrior of Fire 4/1900/1700 Fire/Warrior  
When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you can special summon it to the field at the end of your battle phase, by discarding a warrior-type monster from your hand._

_Flare Edge, Equip Spell  
This card can only be equipped on 'Julie - Elemental Warrior of Fire'. The monster card equipped with this card gains 800 attack points. If this card is in the graveyard when 'Julie - Elemental Warrior of Fire' is summoned to the field, you can draw one card from your deck._

"That is her effect. I discard a warrior from my hand, to revive her at the end of my battle phase." She had placed her in defense mode this time. "And then, when she is special summoned, thanks to the effect of Flare Edge, I can draw one card from my deck." She did so, and thus ended her turn. "That was a good warmup, but you will need to do better." She said. "I can." He summoned E-hero Stratos (1800/300) to the field. "I use its effect to add an E-hero to my hand." He took the E-hero Captain Gold to his hand. "When I discard this card from my hand, I can add a special field card to my hand." He found from his deck and then activated the field spell, Skyscraper. "Now all my Elemental heroes will gain 1000 attack during the battle phase." Stratos was surrounded by tall buildings, he climbed up one of them (2800/300) using it to lift off and charge straught at the defending Julie. "I could have discarded a card to keep her alive. If I had a warrior in my hand." She sighed. "I set a trap card. Turn end."

"Maybe its time for the noble knight combo?" She asked herself. "_Depends on my draw_." She drew a card from her deck, but sadly it was not the Kings Knight. "Guess not." Instead he sacrificed the queen for another monster card. "You may have heard this before, but this is John Bakers current wife, Amanda Baker(2200/2100). During the turn this card is summoned all of your current face-up traps and spells are negated." Not that this effect helped, since Skyscraper only worked during his battle phases. "She attacks Stratos." Amanda then gathered magic in her hands and fired it into Airmans chest, defeating it instantly. "If you can summon from your deck, so can I. Only my trap does not cost lifepoints." And his could be activated during the damage step too, Amanda could not negate it. "Hero Signal." He used the card to call out E-hero Wildheart (1500/1600) from his deck in attack mode. "_The trap ignoring hero? Thats not good for my plans_" But she placed her trap facedown anyway.

Nero's LP: 7600

"Draw." He looked at his hand, but right now he had nothing that he could summon. "Then I will...attack Amanda." Wildheart jumped up, leaping from skyscraper to skyscraper, boosting himself along the way (2500/1600). And because of his effect, Christine could not activate her traps. "Amanda goes down." The wife was slain. "Well you are good. Nero, I wonder though. When I will be good enough for you to start using those evil heroes. Because the duel feels odd to me. Ya know, heroes against heroes?" She was of course still somewhat unhappy about having to beat Venice the day before. "Well..I used them before, because..lets just say that Edgar deserved it." He meant that in a bad way, but she took it differently. "And I do not? Am I not skilled enough?" He shook his head. "No, its not like that. I just havent drawn.." She just stared at him, not sure what to think. "How scary can it be, they're just cards." Thats what she told him, and what he had been trying to tell himself all this time. "Oh well, I mope too much."

Christine's LP: 6600

"End turn." He even streaked the sides of his deck slightly, wondering if he would draw 'it' next turn. It would end this paranoia. "!" Yet as he did, another image flashed through his mind, and he suddenly remembered Pulse the judge from before. "_Him again, why do I keep seeing him? Wait..I thought I...checked him up, last night. I did, and I forgot?" _He recalled it all now. Last night he went to find out what had happened to Pulse that day. He found several articles on the matter on google."_No.. he is in a coma. Like Edgar...and I did that!" _It was the only logical conclusion, yet he had not drawn it until right now. And it would happen to her too, and now there was no way to stop it, or her. "_But what do I do, who has to lose?"_ Would he risk it? "_Wait..but I beat Ned and Isshin the days before that, they were fine. And Pulse beat me, yet he somehow...is that why.." _Nero was so involved with his own thoughts that he did not even notice Christine starting her turn. She just wondered if the guy was planning his next move with just a little tad to much mental effort.

_"Pulse beat me, and stopped me from entering the tournament. Then he passed out, and his records were changed, so I could enter anyway. All because of a dear friend. So if I lose, it could happen anyway, or is someone else doing it for me?" _In either case, he would suffer. And Rose would not be happy if he just quit, since she had been looking forward to this match for so long. "You okay?" She asked him. "Y-yes. Continue." He stopped his inner rant, he had not reached a decision yet. But he would not give up, he would have to play the game as he normally would, for now he still felt like his usual self. "Okay then, I summon this card." She called the shield-monster Card Blocker (400/400), who was always normal summoned in defense mode. 'That card" He remembered that it had the power to absorb all attacks, and when attacked she could discard 3 cards from her deck. Then its defense would be boosted by 1500 points "Your move." She ended her turn, hoping that her guardian would hold his ground.

"Okay..I activate this card, Fusion Recovery!" He used it to take back two of the materials that he used in the summoning of Darkbright; Necoshade and Polymerization. "Then I play Polymerization, to fuse it and Wildheart on my field." He called out the Necroid Shaman. (1900/1800). "When this fusion hero hits the field, he destroys one monster." The Shaman did some strange ritualistic dance which sent the Blocker to his grave. "Then one is revived from the graveyard. I choose Queens Knight(1500/1600), and kill it!" Then the wild and dark elemental slammed his staff into the queen of cards. "Woo, your attacks still have a punch." She grinned and drew her card. "Though you sound different now." She placed a trap card and special summoned a monster to the field. "Anyway, I can special summon this card, by removing one spell from the graveyard." She removed Flare Edge. "Here comes the Spell Striker, who can attack directly!" She had called a tiny knight with a staff (600/200).

He could impossibly stand up to cards like the elemental heroes on his own. But since he was a direct attacker, he did not need to. "Spell striker strikes with magic." She giggled as Nero was zapped by the Strikers small bolts. "...Are you sure you want to summon that?" He inquired. "Of course I am. Its not like his eagerness will hurt me, the damage he takes is not channeled to his master. Thats his third effect." Her turn was over. "But I guess I will have to attack it anyway." He drew and sighed, he had Miracle Fusion in his hand, but he did not want to use it just yet. Not until he knew what her trap card was. "The shaman attacks!" He said as his monster raised his weapon. "Well just because I wont lose lifepoints, does not mean I want to lose my monster." She however flipped her trap card. "Snipers backup! I can only activate this card when my opponent attacks. I can special summon Kyle Baxter (1200/2000) from my hand in defense mode. And also, I get to cancel one attack." So she could stop the shaman in mid-assault.

Nero's LP: 7000

_Snipers back-up, Normal Trap  
__You can only activate this card when your opponent declares an attack against one of your warrior-type monster cards. Negate the attack and special summon a 'Sniper - Kyle Baxter' monster card from your hand in face-up defense mode._

"Now, in my turn I could attack you with both of my direct strikers. But that would be too cheap, and I want to introduce you to someone else instead." She placed a monster card on the field, by sacrificing her other two. "I tribute Spell Striker and Kyle to tribute summon Bill Baker. Johns brother!" It was the younger of the Baker siblings, but a competent fighter regardless, and stronger then John without his armor (2300/2000). "Now, on his own he is formidable, but when he fights alongside his closest relative, they can be invincible." She activated a spell next. "Brotherly Love: I pay 1000 lifepoints to special summon the older brother John from my deck." And then came her number one fighter, John Baker (2000/2000). "Both brothers at the same time. This will be a good way to enter the duels final stage, wouldnt you say?"

Christine's LP: 5600

_Bill Baker: 7/2300/2100 Warrior/Dark  
__You can tribute this card during your opponents turn, to negate all battle damage done to any monster card with 'Baker' in its name._

_Brotherly Love, Normal Spell  
__Pay 1000 LP to activate one of the following effects:  
__- If 'Bill Baker' is face-up on the field. Special summon a 'John Baker' card from your hand, deck or graveyard.  
__- If 'John Baker' is face-up on the field. Special summon a 'Bill Baker' card from your hand or graveyard._

(To be continued in Testament 033: Kataryken)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus  
**Elemental Hero Darkbright  
Elemental Hero Captain Gold  
Elemental Hero Necroid Shaman

-  
Skyscraper

**New Cards used by Christine Rose  
**_Julie, the Elemental Warrior of Fire_  
Spell Striker  
_Bill Baker_

_-_  
_Flare Edge_

-  
Soul Rope  
_Snipers Backup_


	33. Testament 033: Kataryken

Testament 033: Kataryken

"_If Nero were to be defeaten this way, it certainly would be symbolically strong_." Carter thought that Christine was the type to make a duel more spectacular then required, it seemed to be effective though. "Double sibling ambush!" The two Bakers jumped in the fray. Bill Baker slew Necroid Shaman, inflicting 400 damage, while John attacked Nero directly with his light-sword. "Dont look so sad for long though, its your turn again." She smiled. "Thanks." But Jacobus was still confused, and now his head began to throb. He should use this situation to gradually pull back from the match. "No, I can not do that." He said to himself, not too soft either. "I summon E-hero Vice Captain Silver (2100/1600)!" He yelled. Yet his hero died before it could even act. "Hey, why did you do that?" Now she was the confused duelist. "The Captain and Vice Captain have 2100 attack normally. Thats why they have the additional drawback of needing their field spells active, or else they will die." Silvers field was Skyscraper 2, not 1. "I needed him in the graveyard.."

Nero's LP: 4100

"Because of this card, Miracle Fusion!" He targeted two cards in the grave, removing them from play for a gravebound fusion summon. "I fuse Captain and Vice Captain, Gold and Silver into E-hero General Diamond!"

To the field came shining armor, a blue cloak, and a warrior within (2300/3200). "You could have done that differently you know. By discarding it for Skyscraper 2." She said, which surprised him, since he had not thought of that. He should have since he knew his own deck better then she could. "That does not matter much, I need to keep skyscraper 1 on the field, or else either one of your Bakers can kill it." He reasoned. "Diamonds first effect is to reduce your monsters attackpoints by zero!" Both Bill (0/0) and John (0/0) lost all of their attackpoints, even the ones given to them by their weapons."I attack John!" He shouted and the general punched John square in the face. Or at least thats what he wanted to do, instead Bill grabbed the hero by the wrists and stopped him. "Huh?" Then Diamond was thrown back, and Bill collapsed. "You did not think brothers stand alone, did you? Bill can give his life to save that of another Baker." And the Bill card was sent to the cemetery. "I would not know, I am a single child."

_E-hero General Diamond 7/2300/3200 Light/Warrior/Fusion  
E-hero Captain Gold + E-hero Vice Captain Silver  
This card can only be special summoned through a fusion summon. As long as this card is on the field, its controllers spell cards can not be destroyed by card effects. Activate the following effects depending on the field-spell card that is on your side of the field.  
- Skyscraper: Reduce the attackpoints of all monsters on the opponents side of the field to zero.  
- Skyscraper 2: Special summon one E-hero monster card from your hand to your side of the field._

But his head started to throb even more. She just nodded. "Well, I think its finally time to reveal my latest acquisition. I think you are worth it." She drew and activated Pot of Avarice. "I can send five fallen monsters back to the deck (Kyle, Julie, Amanda, Zane and Bill) to draw two new cards." Which she did. "Then I activate this, the spell card: Arms Hole. I can discard the top card from my deck, to add one equipment card to my hand. However I can not normal summon in the turn I add it to my hand." She discarded Jacks Knight from the top of her deck to add Johns Battle Armor to her hand. "Then I set a trap card, and end my turn." It was obvious to everyone what she was planning, she had been hyping it up all this time: Kataryken John Baker. It was coming. She did not play the Battle Armor just yet because she feared a reprisal from Diamond again. "Its now or never, and I.." But then his heart started pounding, as he could feel something. Something rose inside him. "_This pain, I felt it before_" He moaned as the sensation grew stronger and stronger.

_"There is no other way, there isn't. Whether I win or lose, it will come out_." It being whatever caused all these spiritual knockouts. It was connected to him, his illegal stay here, Pulse, Edgar, the evil heroes. It all made sense now, and in this moment of clarity he saw only one option. He was pushed into this corner by the entity, it made him make all those decisions like discarding a card that could have given him Skyscraper 2. Because this one did not want Elementals to come back. "_I can not wait anymore_." He could feel his hand drifting to his deck. "Rose..I.."

He was almost there, he had to place it on the deck, and surrender... almost there

"I ..look forward to your Kataryken, eheheh." Alas, at the last second, his fingers reached for a single card instead. "But I do not think you can bring it out, not when you see the power of my evil heroes." He chuckled as he drew. "You want to use them after all?" She asked "Oh, yes...yes I do." A smile appeared on the girls face. "And arent you confident, Christine. Your ultimate card must be quite special. Its too bad for you, that I wont allow you to call it out." He then showed her the card he drew, an evil hero card. "This is the demon Malicious Edge, a seven-star piercing monster. And if my opponent has a monster on his side of the field, I can summon it with only one tribute. So be gone, useless testament of my weaker half" He tributed E-Hero Diamond, to summon the fiendish warrior, clad in spiked leather(2600/1800). "Wait, you tributed your E-hero? But you could have killed my card with it just as easily, and taken down more of my lifepoints." She was confused. "You asked for this, you wanted evil, you will get it!"

Then Malicious unsheathed claws on his knuckles, and used them to claw right through John. "See where your arrogance has led you, Christine Rose, there is no going back now, heh." He had regained his strength (2500/2000), but it was not enough to survive the clash. "Hmm, so there are more evil heroes then just the Dark Fusion-types." Carter was surprised, and worried. "You did not know that? I thought you had a brother at Outerdeck who shared knowledge with you." Ned showed up just in time to sneer at Wills expense. "No, I did not. I know about Destiny and Neo Heroes, but 'evil' is new to me." Then again, this tournament seemed to draw in a lot of decktypes that were brand new. Like Jackson Doe's symbolist cards, and the few customized cards that Edgar and Dieter wielded. "But Nero does not have connections with the company, as far as I know. So how he got so many rare cards is beyond me. The DP requirement for even one of those cards should be insane." Yet he had shown two of them now.

Christine's LP: 5500

Then it was the girls turn again, and she did not look to happy. "Hey, I am not arrogant. At least I do not intend to be." She protested and drew her card. "I just do not like it when people hold back, it does not feel right if someone wins, knowing that their opponent had not given his all." Her motto was to play at full force, no matter what. "Yes you're just filled with empathy." He commented dryly. "And I do not get what happened to you either, you sound different now, almost mean. I dont think I like it." She then activated the spell card, Fairy of the Spring. She used it to add Johns Sword of Light back to her hand, since it had been sent to the graveyard when John was killed. But the spell added to her hand with Fairy of the Spring could not be used this turn. "I end my turn." She still had no shield monsters.

"Trying a second time, I see" He frowned. "Maybe this is just who I am then, Chrissy. And like you said, I was tired of holding back." He drew another card that radiated a strange inhuman aura. "So mark my words, this...will..hurt!" He summoned said card, another evil hero fiend. "Infernal Gainer (1600/0), the horned demon from hell. During my main phase, I can remove this card from play, where it will stay until my second standby phase." He did so, and the Evil one was teleported to a future dimension. "In return, Malicious Edge can not now attack twice...and this effect is permanent!" The Malicious hero extended both his hands. "Needle Burst, times two!" And he fired a volley of needles from both his knuckles, directly at Rose. "Ugh." She almost activated her trap, but held back at the last second. "_Relax, I can survive this, I need my trap for my next turn._" So she received the double dose, and was nearly downed as a result. "Ahah, that was too close, Chrissy. It felt good for you, didn't it? I know I enjoyed it, ahahha!"

Christine's LP: 300

"Is it my turn?" She asked kindly. "Hmm? You still want to..well by all means, go on." Nero laughed. "Okay." She flipped her trap. "Call of the Haunted. I use it to revive John Baker(2000/2000)." The crowd gasped. "_She had that trap all along eh. Now I see why she did not use it in the battle phase." _He would just have ended up dead again, and she would not be able to do the combo. With Bakers special effect, she added the final equipment spell to her hand, The Shield of Light. "Now..." She equiped Sword (2500/2000), Shield (2800/2300) and Armor (3000/2500) on John Baker. "Oh? You finally managed to complete it, heh." She nodded. "Well, Last time I did not have it in my deck, so I could not summon it. But now, I do. Thanks to Venice." She gave the girl in the stands a friendly wave. "When John has all of his equipment on, he can automatically be tributed for Kataryken John Baker, his ultimate power. So, without further adue." John started yelling and exploded with a furious aura, transforming into Kataryken. "He comes."

Kataryken and his new doubled powers (5000/4500) put the entire audience in a stage of awe. "The ultimate card of the John Baker set. His power lasts four turns, he can not be manipulated and will always defend my other monsters. And as you can see he inherited all the equipment cards from John Baker." Nero looked less then impressed. "All that trouble, and this is it?" Yet Nero only scoffed at the newcomer. "Well it is stronger then your monster, Nero." Which she quickly demonstrated by ordering an attack. And Kataryken cut down Evil Hero Malicious Edge, ending its menace for good. "It can become even stronger, but I need to win more matches to get those cards." Like a super rare secret attack. "And I have not won yet,.. End turn" She said.

_Kataryken John Baker 10/4000/4000 Light/Warrior  
This card can not be normal summoned or set, this card can only be special summoned from the deck by 'Kataryken' or by tributing a face-up 'John Baker' on your side of the field, if it is equiped with 'Sword of Light', 'Shield of Light' and 'Battle Armor'. In that case equip this card with all equipment cards that were on the tributed card when it was sent to the graveyard. Control of this card can not change, and as long as this card is on the field in face-up defense mode, your opponent can not target other monster cards for an attack or card effects. If this card was special summoned by 'Kataryken', return it to your deck during your fourth endphase, and special summon a 'John Baker' from your deck or graveyard._

Nero's LP: 1700

"Draw.." In his turn he placed a trap card facedown, and he activated the dreaded card. "Well I think its time to call it a day, Christinny." His new nickname made even less sense to her. "Wouldn't you agree?... Dark Fusion!" She gasped, as he combined both the fire mistress and the earth warrior with the evil Polymerizer, into the demonic gunner. "Evil Hero, Infernal Sniper (2000/2500)" She was called out in defense mode, the dark version of Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster. "This one is a direct attacker." Which meant that it could bypass Kataryken, and fire at his master. "Direct attacks?" She stared at her trap card, Drain Shield, which was theoretically able to drain that attack. "I can tell what you're hoping for. You're too easy, Christinny. Even if your trap could somehow ignore Dark Fusions ability to override effects that target the monsters it combined in the first turn, it wont work. Because it attacks with effect damage, during the standby phase." He ended his turn, inviting her to strike with his wicked smile.

She knew that the Fusion had to die, or else she would lose the game during his standby phase. "I must at least admit, Chrissy, that you had me in a corner for a while." But she did not fear his trap, since Kataryken was immune to trap effects thanks to the Battle Armor. "Would you mind it, if you stopped calling me that? My mom always says 'Chrissy'. It makes me feel as if she is right behind my back." She moaned. "You are still worried about that, at a time like this?" He teased her. "You have to concentrate on worser things." She cringed. "_Why is he acting like this, did I upset him that much?" _She then equiped Kataryken with Genji Sword, boosting its power by 1000 points (6000/4500). Then she placed a trap of her own facedown. "I will attack." And Baker slayed his defending Hero, But. "Trap card, Evil Mirage." During the endphase of her turn, the Sniper returned without warning. "What?" Evil Mirage was the evil version of Elemental Mirage, it allowed him to revive any fallen Evil Hero, even disregarding the fusions special requirements. "The Sniper returns. And it takes a shot...at you." The Infernal Hero had fired, hitting her for 1000 damage. The hit felt like a real gunshot hit. "I lost? Why do I feel so.."

_Evil Mirage, Normal Trap  
Activate only when a 'Evil Hero' fusion monster on your side of the field is destroyed and sent to the graveyard. Special summon to your side of the field all 'Evil Hero' monsters that were destroyed and sent to the graveyard this turn, ignoring their summoning conditions._

Christine's LP: 0

Her vision began to dim, as the sounds of the people around her withered It became dark, very dark. The only thing that lightened up this place, was the glowing symbol on Nero's forehead, which she had not seen before. "I take it back, eheh. You're not arrogant or confident, you are naive. You asked for a good challenge, a fiendishly good duelist that you could be the hero against, and you got more then you bargained for." His voice hurt her ears, her head. "Poor Christinny, your mother never told you that there are actual monsters out there, did she?" He placed his hand against her head. "Penalty Game." The girls heart quivered. "For the next 24 hours you will experience a real adventure, one of pain and death. You will play the part of a hero, one who is continuously killed by the demons you unknowingly mocked. Have fun, ahahah." In the real world, she collapsed on the floor. Like Edgar and Pulse before her, they had become a victim of Nero's darker half. And this time, he had gained enough strength, to take over Nero's body indefinitely.

(To be continued in Testament 34: Eleventh Hour)

**New Cards used by (Dark) Nero**  
_Elemental Hero General Diamond_  
Evil Hero Malicious Edge  
Evil Hero Infernal Gainer  
Evil Hero Infernal Sniper

-  
_Evil Mirage_

**New Cards used by Christine**  
_Kataryken John Baker_

-  
Pot of Avarice  
Fairy of the Spring  
Arms Hole


	34. Testament 034: 11th Hour

Testament 034: Eleventh Hour

While the darker half of the Nero mind had taken over for the last part of the duel, the better side had not been completely pushed aside. Nero could still observe the duel, and take up its memories. Yet he was powerless to stop it, powerless to warn or help Christine Rose. "_Why am I doing this?..Why are you doing this!" _He cried out to the unseen current master of his body. "_Why cant I move!" _He cursed, and nobody heard his pleads, nobody except 'him'. "_Quit yer shouting kid, you cant do anything anymore_." It was his own voice that told him to shut up, yet it sounded disturbingly different, inhuman almost. "_Let me go, why are you in me!" _Nero protested. "_Tsch, you dont understand do you? It is me who should run this body from now on, because..I am you_." Jacobus gasped. "_No wait, let me put it in a better way. I am Nero..the only Nero, past present and future. You are no longer required, you never were_." The fiend cackled, as all sound slowly died out, leaving Nero behind in pure darkness. "No, No!"

Back on the physical plane, the collapse of Rose shocked the audience, but the judge remained formal. "The winner is, Nero Jacobus, he moves on to the finals!" The rest was not as loud or cheery as him, they were all filled with concern for the girl. "It happened again?" Colin flinched. "No, not her too." Venice nearly fainted herself. "Someone get her a stretcher or something, move it people!" They started barking orders at the poor judge, who quickly whistled for first aid. They could not believe a third person had fallen already. "I guess she could not handle the pain of defeat, eheh." Nero joked to himself, and he calmly walked off the stage, as if his hands were clean on the whole matter. "I have enough duelpoints too, I'd say its time for that certain card.."

He planned a visit to the shop, but he was interrupted along the way. Three duelists waited for him in the stands. "Oh, hey guys." He greeted Ned, Will and Venice. "Here to congratulate me on my decisive victory, I assume?" They did not look to happy though. "Is she...okay?" Venice asked softly. "I didn't hear you there, speak up Gray." He said with a smirk. "It happened again, Nero, she fainted, like Edgar did. I can not call that a coincidence." Ned rasped, his suspicion of Jacobus had raised once more. "What are you accusing me off; assault? Tsk, and you call yourselves my friends." He walked passed them. "You act strange, Nero, you do not normally sound like this." Will said. "Strange? You think this is strange, you have seen nothing." He turned to them with a malicious grin. "I am in control now, I have reached the finals. I do not need to pretend anymore, this is the real me. And now I gotta go, farewell, friends." They were left stunned by this revolting personality change. "...Nicolai, we need you to research something."

Nero's victory had landed him enough duelpoints on his Rank-card, to download one of the super secretive rare cards in the outerdeck database. Only on the last day, in the hours before the finals, could one obtain such a card. Jackson had the oppurtunity to get a similar card, but he never chose to take it. His deck was already completed, not once did he use his DP for any Elemental Hero card-related purchases. "Heh." He inserted the card and scanned the database, opening a file that read 'ghost rares'. Within it were three cards, and he clicked one of them. After which the card slot machine shuffled it out, into his hands. It was the instant spell card, Super Fusion. "_This will come in handy, against that ensouled enigma that dares to face my powers. I only need to improve it a little._" He then walked away, only to be interrupted by another 'concerned friend', Cleo Caine. "Oh not again, what do you want?" He snarled. "I want..answers." She sounded equally coarse. "Answers? I will need questions first."

She took a deep breath and glared straight at him. "I know that it was you that turned all those people into vegetables, that girl and the guy with the mp3 fetish." He raised an eyebrow. "I've seen it before, and I don't want to admit it.. but you have magical powers too, dont you?" To her, the idea of accepting the notion of magic, was absurd and ridiculous. But her duel with Ananka forced her to see differently. "What are y..oh I see." He closed his eyes and chuckled. "You think I am him, eheheh. You'd be close." Caine assumed that he was the one that possessed Stefan in round 2 since he too slipped into a coma as a result of his own defeat. "Eheh, you have the wrong person. You need the old guy, Glyphs his name. No idea where he is right now." He shrugged and stepped away. "Then how can you..do these things, do you have.." She clenched her enchanted ring. "One of those? Hmph, why would I tell you? You women are all too fond of sharing secrets with each other." He then left. "You will see in time. And please, call me Jacob."

He brushed her off and walked back to his hotel room to prepare himself mentally and physically for the final duel. But he never made it passed the lobby, since there was a message waiting for him. "Sir. A friend of yours visited. He missed you and asked us to deliver you this." One of the staff members approached him with a letter. It had not been opened. "Why thank you.." He wondered what it could have been, there was only a smily stamp on it. "_Oh he should not have_." It was from Glyph of course, several cards were inside. "_I appreciate the gesture, but I dont need these... yet..."_

Speaking of Glyph, currently he was engaged in a questionable conversation with his new best pal, Cadron the white coat leader. "Interesting, you say your Rod grants you the power to control minds, each item must have a unique power." The one-eyed scientist noted down what Glyph told him. "If you talk like that, I can probably say, that you people have at least one of the seven." This theory made the man laugh. "Maybe, maybe not. Seeing as how your rod doesnt work long-distance, I see no need to reveal everything. The finals are coming up soon, maybe you should focus on that instead." The street mage just scowled. "Bah, those kids disappointed me, I want to know about your company now. Unless you plan to hit the scene as soon as the show ends, I saw all your boys hiding in the colloseum." Cadron sighed. "Indeed, there will be a big show, our second spy will coordinate it. You can have fun there, just remember. If you come too close to us, we will probably terminate you, and take away your rod. Just a warning for you, keheh."

Ned Zoro was flipping through page after page, trying to find something on Evil Hero cards, and whether or not they were official. All he found were rumors and reports of cards already shown by Nero in the duels this week. They appeared to be completely unofficial, not in any database or even a customized database. "_Not even YGO wikia has them. But_.." He changed the contents of the searcher. "_Neither does Persona. Until now I only assumed that they were promo sets, like Arcana Force and John Bakers set. These cant even be downloaded. How the hell did they get a hold of them? _Wait.." Then he accidentily stumbled upon a new bulletin, the title and abstract said something about the finals, Outerdeck and its rival business Tumaga Inc. "_Oh? I should get the full file!" _Just then the page blipped, and froze. "What, now now!" Zoro shouted, and shook his laptop. The online connection returned for a while, only to short out again soon afterwards. Everything was down, messengers, email, everything.

"Damn it all, what did Edgar do to you?"

Meanwhile the buzz in the main stadium was as vivid as ever, slowly the watchers returned to their seats, having filled up on enough food and drinks to enjoy the last match of today and this entire tournament. Jackson Doe also already returned from his short break. At the same time, most other duelists were with Rose in the infirmary. The stage was not even half-full though, when something unexpected happened. Dust and wind picked up, and the sun was temporarily blocked out by a large solid object in the sky. It was the company blimp, and this time it descended towards the platform. It touched ground in the middle of the ring, and the doors below opened up. "What now, who is that, what is happening?" Where the questions that whirled around the air, as the arrival of this vehicle introduced a new level of excitement. From the vessel came he, the representative of Outerdeck, Marcus Williams. He waved at the people with his friendly smile and slow handshake, he had come to witness the finals himself. Little did everyone know, that Tumaga's agents were all over the place, waiting for this exact moment. Once they got in reach of Marcus, the card game company would be theirs for the taking.

Marcus stepped down from the zeppelin, which soon lifted off into the air again, abandoning the platform. The vessel hovered into the distance, landing behind the arena's walls, followed by two helicopters. Marcus came with one stern and tough-looking bodyguard. Williams cleared his throat and raised his hand. "Greetings, boys and girls, ladies and gentleman, duelists and enthusiasts. This is the hour you have all been waiting for, So many have faced the trials that Outerdeck created, skill, knowledge, determination and experience, they have seen it all. But in the end, only one can win our prestigeous awards, only one can be crowned 'King of Games'. Of the thousands that were selected, only these two remain." He extended his hands to both sides of the ring. "Jackson Doe from the A-division, and Nero Jacobus from the D-division. These two will now fight for the title. But as the representative of the company that made everyone's favorite cardgame, I would like to shake their hands and wish them both luck, what say you?"

He winked at the respective gamers, inviting them over. "Heh." The darker Nero sneered and walked over to him, Doe did the same only without an emotional expression on his face. "Welcome brave ones, you must be sir Doe, and you are Sir Jacobus." He shook their hands as they stepped on the platform. "My friends call me Jacob." Nero corrected him. "Jacob it is then." Marcus let go, while feeling a strange cold shiver run through his spine. "WellI hope you two gentleman are prepared for the finals. After all its to late to change your decks now, etcetera etcetera." He laughed. "Oh, I am prepared, eheh." He glanced at his cards. "..." Doe simply gave a thumbs up as a sign of his fine condition. "Oh yes, I remember you too, you're the symbolist actor. Marvelous show, I look forward to more of that." He then stepped away from them. "From my personal skybox of course, the next time we meet, one of you will receive the trophy", the money and a special price." He and his bodyguard went up the stairs to the skybox, soon it would be time..

"She is stable, you may see her. Just dont expect much, she is in a deep coma." The doctor said to Venice and William, who came to visit the hospitalized Christine. She simply rested there on a bed next to Edgar Diamond. "Okay." They went into the room, while the doctor left muttering something about the strangest coma case he'd ever seen. "She really is gone." Venice sighed, Rose looked like a dead person, only the signs of her heartbeat proved that she was still alive. Even with her eyes closed, she did not look peaceful at all. "_I can not believe it, but Nero must have done this. Just like he did with Edgar. But how, how can he do this! More importantly, why would he do this?"_ It did not make sense to Carter. "But he seemed so nice." Gray said. "I know, he changed so rapidly, dueling style and attitude." Just then the door slid open again, and an unexpected arrival followed. "You?" It was Ananka. "You came for her too?"

"For her, and for the others, I came many times actually." She pulled out her necklace, which the others had not seen up close before. "What are you doing?" Venice gasped, as she held it over Rose's head. "I am trying what I always try, helping the accursed ones." The necklace began to glow faintly, humming to a gentle tune. "Yet." The light died out shortly afterwards. "I can never help any of them, only the curser can cure the curse." She sighed. "You know about this, how? Is is true what Colin and Cleo said, your necklace is magical?" She nodded. "Yes, I can not explain much right now. But my item is the same as hers, and the one who possessed Stefan Kadich over there. And I suspect that your friend Nero has a similar object. However he has not revealed it to anyone so far. Only Nero can help her now, and only if he desires too.." So to heal Rose, they would have to convince one Nero or the other. "Wait, why cant you explain to us now, whats going on?" He asked again. "A storm is brewing, more then one front has collided.."

Just then a third party stampeded into the med-bay, much to the nurses chagrin. "Guys!" It was Ned, an out of breath Ned. "You look tired." They were surprised to see him so soon. "Did you find out about the evil heroes?" Zoro shook his head. "Fraid not, its impossible to find information when the connection is down." He wheezed. "What, did your computer blink out again? I told you to get a better provider then N.." But before Will could complain more, Nicolai looked at Gray. "Venice, try using your cellphone." She blinked. "Ehr, yes." And tried it, but when she opened the phone, all she got was static. "Huh?" Finally Ned stopped panting and sat down. "Just as I thought, all lines are down, we are offline. Its not just my computer, I even tried the internet cafes. Something is going on here.." He said ominously, and Ananka spoke up. "I agree, I can no longer ignore this foreboding aura, whatever bad is coming our way, it is already here." She looked at a card in her hand, it was the Tarot Card: The Devil.

(To be continued in Testament 035: Final Duel: Vice in Every Heart)


	35. Testament 035: Vice in Every Heart

Testament 035: Final Duel: Vice in Every Heart

The audience had now maxed out their excitement level, and no seat was left empty. The turn-up was so great that all duelists were forced to watch on the stands instead. "This cant happen, Doe and Nero in the finals. But I predicted that they would both lose!" Colin protested to himself, apparently. "And now they are in the finals, only one can lose a final! Whoever wins, my future telling powers will suffer!" He whined.

Another person who watched from the stands, was a mysterious gamer, one who had not joined the first round at all. He had white hair, piercing red eyes and the rest of his features were obscured by a black cloak. "_These people here, they will all face horrible consequences for their enthusiasm. They are forsaken, only time will tell who lives_." Naturally nobody noticed him. Also not noticed where the white coats, who were more present then ever before. Half a dozen for every corner of the arena, and they all waited for their sign. The one who would give that sign was somewhere in the audience as well, masquerading as a common ticket holder. "_Marcus is still as talkative as ever, I can not wait to see his face when the curtain goes down. Then the members of Tumaga Inc will reveal their true nature to all these fools._" He coughed and waited along with everyone else. Waiting for the last match. All in all there was a lot riding on this duel, and a lot of people watched that did not actually belong here.

The final duel of the tournament was in fact so important that certain channels had exclusive access to the match as well. Alas most of them fell short on their promise, as mysteriously all connections were cut short by interference. All but one signal, which headed straight for Tum'aga headquarters. Simone sat comfortably in her big chair, still holding a glass of wine, viewing the game through her secret spying camera's. "Well well, what are you watching?" A man approached her from behind, dressed in similar richmans clothes. "Sister Dearest." He was Simon, the younger of the Creed siblings, but equally powerful in the company. "You need to stick with the times, brother dearest, the final duel, you almost missed it." She smiled. "I see, well I had more entertaining tasks to tend too." He shoved his own seat next to hers. "After all, the exciting stuff does not transpire until after the coronation." He said. "Oh I dont know, one of the duelists is pretty interesting himself." She said as she took another sip from her wine.

At the actual arena, Doe and Nero walked from their sides of the platform, and met each other to shuffle each others decks. "Still not talking huh, we will correct that once the pain starts." He smirked as he was done shuffling. "That felt tingly, your cards are so filled with souls. I cant wait to penalize each and every one of them." Jackson also returned the hero deck to the dark one, while giving him a deep stare. "Wow that expression must have taken a lot of effort" He chuckled. The two then went back to their sides of the platform, and the judge walked forward. "The Final Duel: Jackson Doe VS Nero Jacobus, commences now!"

Nero's LP: 8000 Jacksons LP: 8000

"Since you had to wait the longest, you can go first. You must be begging for a personality right now." He drew just five cards, one spell, one trap and three monsters. ".." Doe silently accepted and drew six cards, five monsters and one spell card. Yet in the first turn he decided to play defensive and did not summon a Persona monster face-up to the field. He placed a monster and his spell down. "How disappointing, I do not like it when my prey does not converse along in fear." Jacob no longer felt like holding back any of his darker impulses, especially not against someone who probably already knew his true identity.

"Well if you wont start off, I shall!" He activated the spell card E-Emergency Call, adding Stratos from his deck to his hand, which he then immediately summoned (1800/400). "Stratos can add any Hero card to my hand, so.." He picked up Evil Hero Malicious Edge from the deck. "This will be a thrill, before the end of the day, I will have heard each of your Personae in agony, it will be a wondrous amalgam of screams!"

He entered his battle phase. "Here I come!" Nero shouted as E-Hero Stratos spread its wings and launched a stunning kick to Doe's facedown monster, the teardropped Soul Decoy (200/100) "Ah at last." With the effect of the Decoy, Doe could add a lv.4 symbol to his hand, and he selected the first of the entire set: Orpheus. "The fools choice eh, how fitting. I suppose its better then having no personality at all, wouldn't you agree with me Jackie?" He ended his turn, and Jackson drew his card, not bothering to comment on his personal nickname. "Wander."

Then he discarded a monster card from his hand, it was called 'Wanderer of the Tower'. It was similar to the Gold and Silver E-hero cards, as its power was to add a specific field to the hand. "Tartarus." Which he then activated, the field card Tartarus Tower. "How nice, a spell that allows you to ignore the one dark side that every personality has." The tower overshadowed both players. "I think, now its my turn." Doe then adopted full sentences as he finally summoned his first Persona for the match: Orpheus, empowered by the dark tower (1300/1700). "I remember what it does..and that your field allows you to choose whatever effect you want." Nero Jacob chuckled. "I see, then you wont be shocked, when I do this!" The Tower gave the symbol his spell effect, which were 1000 attackpoints (2300/1700) "Die Stratos die!" Orpheus Doe cheered as it blasted the warrior to pieces, inflicting 500 damage. "Tsch, a minor loss. Even the best of Elementals leaves me cold. You know which card I truly like." Jackson ended his turn.

Nero's LP: 7500

_The Wanderer of the Tower 4/1900/1400 Dark/Fiend  
You can discard this card from your hand to the graveyard to add 1 card which has 'Tartarus' in its name, from your deck to your hand. Also, when this face-up card is succesfully destroyed through an opponent's attack or card effect, you can choose one 'Tartarus Tower' from your graveyard, and send it back to your deck. Your deck is then shuffled._

"At least Stratos did his job well, and thanks to his lack of bias against other hero type cards, I have the right tools to make The Fool cry, instead of laugh." He drew another card from his sidedeck. "Watch closely, Jackie. When I have no monsters on my field, I can special summon an Evil Hero from my hand: the Infernal Prodigy(300/600)" A small demonic brat appeared. "And you naturally remember that Malicious Edge can be sacrifice summoned with only one tribute, if my opponent has a monster card on his field." So he tributed the infernal brat, right after he had special summoned it, to normal summon Evil Hero Malicious Edge (2600/1800) the piercer. "Also, when Prodigy is sacrificed for a hero-type card, I can draw one card from my deck!" So he had six cards in his hands once more. "Since the last effect that was activated, was a monster card, your Persona (1300/1700) powers down. Now let me hear you cry in pain, Orpheus!" The demon fired a volley of spiked needles from its knuckles, stabbing Orpheus in the neck.

Jacksons LP: 6700

But that blow would only strengthen his resolve to win, because he did not want to lose to this character. "Ehreheh, you think you alone can play that game of fast summoning?" He asked with a very lewd voice. "Spell card, Velvet Room!" A card in his hand started to glow. "When I use this, I can sacrifice Personae from my deck, to special tribute summon a highlevel symbol! Twice the number of stars is required." He discarded Odin, Norn, Surtr and Attis: symbol of the Hanged. "Thats 21 levels total, more then enough to summon..me." And strangely enough he picked the card from his hand, with his teeth. Then he placed it face-up on the field. "Eight stars: Symbol of the Devil, Abaddon!" And this one had to be the most grotesque in his deck, the monster was more mouth then anything else. "Now, the tower gives me my spell effect, and I can reduce one monsters strength by half!" The Malice Demon weakened significantly (1300/1800) "I hunger, for flesh!" Abaddon (2900/2600) opened its jaws, and sucked in Nero's monster whole.

Nero's LP: 5900

_The Velvet Room, Normal Spell  
Send a number of 'Persona' monster cards from your deck to the graveyard, and normal summon a 'Persona' monster card from your hand whose level is half that of the combined level of all sent monsters through this card's effect._

_Abaddon, Symbol of the Devil 8/2700/2400 Dark/Fiend/Persona__  
Only one 'Persona' card of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a 'Persona' monster. __  
Monster: As long as this card is face-up, reduce the attack and defense of all monsters on your opponent's side of the field by 600.  
Spell: As long as this card is face-up, reduce the original attack of a monster on your opponent's side of the field by half.  
Trap: As long as this card is face-up, reduce the attack of all monsters on your side of the field by 600._

Afterwards he burped in unison with Jackson. "How disgusting you can be, heheh." While the devilish Doe licked his lips, Nero Jacob drew his next card. "Not yet, still." He was waiting for Dark Fusion, which was buried deep in his deck. "But I got this: Infernal Gainer(1600/0)." He summoned another familiar Evil Hero. "I equip him with this card, Vicious Claw." The right hand of the Hell Gainer was covered with a sharp claw gauntlet. "This will boost his attackpoints by 300." However Abaddons spell effect was back on the field. "Gainers attack is halved(800/0), I know. I guess that does include the equipment attack boost." So he left his now equiped monster (950/0) to defend him, and placed a trap card as well. "I should warn you. Something bad will happen if you attack it." His turn was over. "Thanks for the warning, hreheh."

"Draw." Abaddon Doe then summoned a new monster card to his field, which was not a Persona. It was a symbol without character. "Souless Symbol of the Wands (1500/1300)" Just like in Tarot, not all symbols were represented by Major Arcana. A deck also had swords, pentacles, cups and wands. "This souless being is shielded by me. You can not kill the soulless as long as a Persona exists. And since the tower itself does not want it, hreheh. It depends on ensouled monsters like me, to get an effect. And since I have my spell effect, it gains its own spell effect. Now I can remove one spell from the graveyard, ehreh." The only thing he could get rid of was Emergency Call. But that was a good as anything. "And I decide when its time to die and live, your shadows do not terrify anyone!" The Wand Symbol flew down on Hell Gainer. "You know nothing!" But the attack was blocked by his claw. "The claw is triggered. It returns to my hand to prevent the death of the monster it was equiped too." Infernal Gainer pushed Jacksons attacker back. Though the battle damage still hurt him

Nero's LP: 5350

_Soulless Symbol of the Wands 4/1500/1300 Dark/Spellcaster  
This monster cannot be destroyed in battle if there is a 'Persona' monster on your side of the field.  
Activate the following effects depending on which 'Persona' monster effect that has been succesfully activated.  
Monster: Remove one monster card from any graveyard from play.  
Spell: Remove one spell card from any graveyard from play.  
Trap: Remove one trap card from any graveyard from play._

"But there is so much more to it. This claw, when returned can kill any other prey regardless of its own defenses!" His eyes shifted from the Soulless to the ensouled. "That means you die, Abaddon." The Devil started to decay. "Hreh, you think that can penetrate me?" Doe rasped, as he flipped his facedown instant spell. "Spell card: The Dark Hour. This cancels out my demise." The spell prevented a Persona's destruction. "I should have known that it would take more then one swing to bring that fat blob down. But at least I can try again next turn." Since his claw was back in his hand. "I will not let you, attempt it with the same monster though." The hungry one could still attack, Infernal Gainer (800/0) was without defenses. "You can try, and fail!" But Jacob had his own trap waiting, Compensation for Heroics. "I no longer need this battle phase to do damage, it ends!" Fortunately, Doe could draw 1 card for every monster on Nero's field. "I draw one card, and use the Tartarus Tower to keep Abaddon in his spell-mode.."

Nero/Jacob drew his card, and he smiled wickedly. "Its about time" He snorted as he had in his hand 'that spell'. "Allow me to introduce to you, the shadow power of a spirit. Something which even your darkest personality can not grasp, Dark Fusion!" He discarded Burstinatrix and Avian from his hand, to fusion summon Inferno Wing (2100/1200), the demonic incarnate of Flame Wingman. "_Ah the monster that slew our useless spy, Edgar_." The second Tumaga spy smirked_. "This finalist certainly is entertaining, maybe we should have recruited him instead. Oh well, it wont matter at this stage." _The Evil Fusion was also affected by Abaddon, her attack was halved (1050/1200), while Hell Gainer regained his original attackpower (1600/0) "Heh. Vicious Claw!" But he simply replayed the equip spell, attaching the claw to the hellish female (1200/1200). I remove the Infernal Hero from play." The Gainer effect was activated. "Now Infernal Wing can attack twice, every battle phase!"

The crowd gasped as the fusion demon flew forward once more, cutting into the Wand Symbols hide with the Vice Claw. The claw shattered, returning to his hand. . "Be gone, once and for all!" He could now destroy another monster on the field. "No more spells to save you!" The devil symbol was finally turned into a mere puddle. "Additionally. You lose 600 lifepoints when this effect kills a monster. However in return.." Yet from the puddle came the Vice-Token in defense mode (2500/2500). "This thing is given to your side of the field." Furthermore he could not activate Vicious Claw twice in one turn. "But the phase has not ended yet, for my second blow!" The infernal mistress, no longer hindered by the blob (2100/1200), struck down the defenseless Wand User. She then inflicted damage equal to the attackpower of the victim. "That is also 600 battle damage and 1500 burning damage." All in all, Jackson lost 2500 lifepoints, Nero only lost 300. "Your already halfdead, Jackie. Be glad I gave you that token."

Jacksons LP: 4000 Nero's LP: 5050

Then in Jacksons turn, he stared at his token, and sighed. "We wont.." Then he summoned the shady priestess Scathach (1700/1700) "use this... Nero, or what you may call yourself. Leave your devices out of our victory." It would be the Persona that brought defeat, and them alone. "Even if abaddons alignment is questionable, we work together as one. This token of your gratitude however, will not be accepted" He spoke with a stern tone, as he discarded Siegfried from his hand, to activate Scathachs monster effect: to destroy all monsters on the field, besides herself. So Inferno Wing and Vice were dismissed from the platform. "Hm? Your pride will be your undoing then, Personae of Jackson Doe." He cackled. "Maybe so, but before the end of this day, we will reach the true soul within you. For we know that you are Nero and yet you are not Nero. This mystery will be solved." Then the spellcaster pelted the unshielded Jacob with her attack. "Heh, I figured that you of all people would see my true self. Thats why I do not have to hold back anymore."

Nero's LP: 3350

"My turn!"

(To be continued in Testament 036: Final Duel: Defining Me)

**New Cards used by Jacob Nero**  
Evil Hero Infernal Prodigy

-  
Vicious Claw

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**  
_Wanderer of the Tower_  
_Symbol of the Devil - Abaddon_  
_Soulless Symbol of the Wands_

_-_  
_Velvet Room_


	36. Testament 036: Defining Me

Testament 036: Final Duel: Defining Me

While Jacob had taken a major hit from Scathach, however his glee did not fade yet. "If you want to bring back Nero and see his sickening side again." And it was his turn now, who knew what horrors he would bring out next. "I will gave you a taste of that..." He drew another card. "I summon Sparkman (1600/1400) to the field...arent you happy now?" Jackson did not respond, so Jacob followed with a spell. "As much as I dislike these cards, I dislike your annoying tower even more, Righteous Justice!" For every hero on his side of the field, he could destroy one spell or trap card, and naturally he picked the Tartarus field spell. "Now then...I know what you are thinking. Someone like me could not possibly draw two Dark Fusions in a row, could he? Guess again..." He played a spell card, Graceful Charity. Nero drew three cards from his deck, the third of which was what he needed. "Heh." He threw away Elemental Hero Bubbleman and the Vicious Claw, since he no longer needed that spell. "Dark Fusion..." The crowd gasped again.

"I fuse this Sparkman with the Clayman in my hand, lightning and earth, to form the Electric Evil Hero: Lightning Golem(2400/1500)!" It was the dark counterpart to E-hero Thunder Giant. "And unlike its weaker kinder half, this monster does not require a discard for its destructive capabilities. So die, Scathach, just die." The demons effect activated, unleashing a stream of thunder, to incinerate the Priestess symbol, leaving Jackson wide open. "Aheh, direct attack." Then his Evil card channeled electricity into its fists, and delivered a shocking punch to Doe's gut. "Gghk." He was pushed back, and almost fell of the platform. "You may have survived one dark fusion, Jackie, but I have so many more." He cackled, and ended his turn "Draw." Doe spoke in a monotonous voice, as he placed one more monster card facedown, and a trap along with it. Since his card was facedown, he did not adopt a new personality with it. "Thats it, thats your stunning last move? You can not even give me another symbol to torture. How sad."

Jacksons LP: 1600

"Then I guess this is the end." In his turn, Infernal Gainer (1600/0) returned to the field. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. When two turns pass since this cards removal, it comes back to me." He used it before on Inferno Wing, he could use it all over again. Doe studied his opponents moves carefully, since precise timing was required to survive the next assault. "In the unlikely event that your trap can block my monsters attack once.." He sent the Evil Hero into the future once more, allowing the Golem to make two attacks. "So, lets see what you had there, eheh." The golem reactivated his ability and destroyed the facedown, it was the Symbol of the Tower, Shiva (1800/500). "Guess you had nothing special for.." He was about to enter the battle phase, when.. "Trap card!" And it was in this exact moment, that his other card was triggered. "What?" A trap called 'Destruction from One's Mind'. "This card reacts on the death of a Personality." Shiva's voice came from the grave to explain. "Sending two symbols back to life, and killing two cards on the field!" She returned Odin and Siegfried. The only card on the field was Lightning Golem, so it was destroyed. "Damn you." He was again unshielded. "Additionally, I can draw one card..."

_Destruction from One's Mind, Normal Trap  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a Persona monster. You can only activate this effect when a Persona monster is destroyed by an opponent's card effect. Send two Persona monster cards from your graveyard back to your deck, and destroy two face-up cards on the field. If you could only destroy one card or less, draw one card from your deck._

"Your turn." He rasped. Doe nodded and summoned to the field, the Hermits Symbol, Arahabaki(500/600). "That ugly thing again." Since the last card that had been activated was the monster effect of Infernal Gainer, (Destruction did not count due to its own effect), the claydolls stats became 2100 attack (2100/600) "I guess, a direct attack." He said with a bored tone, and fired a magical blast at the wicked duelist. "Ggh, that was a lucky shot." He spat. Now both players were nearing the last stage of their lifepoints. "You seem upset, is that because you no longer have any souls to hide behind?" He placed a trap card down as well. "Hiding, pfeh. The Elemental Heroes and Evil Heroes, they mean nothing to me. They are just pawns, while Nero is the chessboard. Its not a game I enjoy playing, but I have too." On that note, right now he needed to draw his newest card, if he were too make any progress at all. A card even stronger then Dark Fusion. "_Curses, just another weakling warrior_." He placed the monster he drew facedown.

Nero's LP: 1250

While the game was going on, Carter, Ned and Ananka walked across the hallways inside the arena, to get to the dueling stage. Venice stayed behind to keep a close eye on Rose, even though they knew she would not recover until the game had ended, and that was not even certain. "Here too, all the TV's and all lines are dead. Its like the entire network has been hacked." Ned tried several of the arena payphones, but those all failed him too. "And this may be unrelated, but why are all the shops and restaurants closed? Even the bathrooms!" All that running made William a bit hungry. "We can worry about that later. We have to see how Jackson is doing." Ananka said. "Are you sure he can handle it, does he have one of those items too?" Ned asked her. "No, he has something else.." The Seeress sighed.

Back at the duel Arahabaki Doe seemed to pause before he drew. "It sounds odd to me. You know that this body hosts a dozen spirits, and we all have learned to work together. So why can't you coexist with your other self? You supress him, you control his every move." He drew, and placed a monster in facedown defense mode, then Arahabaki attacked a second time, crushing the defending E-hero Ocean (1500/1200). "That is because that soul was weak, he needed me to get this far, hell he needed me from the start, to enter this place. Eheh, I am a better Nero then he will ever be."

It was 'his' turn again, and the next card he drew, he liked. At the same time, Infernal Gainer returned to the field, two more turns had passed. "Hey Jackson, I am about to show you my favorite card. You want to know why its my favorite?" His smirk made Doe curious, yet worried. "This spell represents my nature well, to merge one soul with another, submitting it to my will. I may not like Elemental Heroes, and even Evil Heroes can do better. But Fusion is the best part of this game, especially..Super Fusion!" He shouted, as he activated the spell, a storm blew over the dueling field. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can fuse anything on the field!" He threw away Necro Guardna, and targeted both Arahabaki and Hell Gainer. "You want to merge with me, thats an illegal play!" The symbol protested. "In my hands, Super Fusion can fuse all, ignoring any conditions of the fusion monster itself!" Jackson tried to look towards the judge, but he did not respond at all. "Tsch, this is not good...or.."

The Super spell Dark Fused Arahabaki (2400/600) with the Evil Hero(1600/0). Yet in that instant.. "What?" ... all went dark, for both him and his demon. "What is happening.." Jacob was more surprised then Jackson. Doe figured it out all to soon. "Thanks, Jacob.' Arahabaki's voice called out to the dark Nero. "In this state, combined with your malicious monster, I can see into your mind. I can find..the true Nero." Jacob flinched. "No, you can not!" And suddenly the darkness was replaced, by images. The crowd could not see what was going on, only two souls were allowed to witness the fusion from inside the mental plane. It was strange to the audience, to see such a fierce clash result in complete silence. Nero and Doe stopped talking. It was only a fraction of time lost to them, but it lasted a thousand times longer inside.

Inside it was different, they were not in England no more."What is this place?" Arahabaki stood inside an ordinary home, in the living room on the first floor. It rained outside, but inside it felt nice and warm. "Is this, your..his house?" The doll asked the other spirit present. Jacob was there as well, floating above the movements of the past "Digging through our experiences wont help you, Symbol. You wont find him, I will not allow it." He grumbled, he was clearly incapable of pushing the Persona out at this point. "I am not asking you to guide me, Jacob. Even if Nero can not be found in the memories of old, we can still learn." Right now the Persona was disconnected from Jacksons body, but once he was freed, his knowledge would automatically rejoin with Doe. "Fine then, if you wish to know this much.." Just then a man walked into the house, an older man, whose face was blurred by a strange fog. "Meet our father, Jasper Sullivan." The doll was quite surprised, even though his face did not allow such facial expressions.

And then something clicked. "Your fathers last name, is different from yours." To which the villain just smirked. "I never said that 'Jacobus' was our actual last name, see it as more of a middle name." Arahabaki looked again. "His head is..covered.. so you can still control your memories to some extent. Why do you want me to see this much?" It asked. But the question was ignored as a small boy ran up to the man, it was soon clear that this was a younger Nero. "His..father..was an employee at the archeology research department." The man carried a small box with him, a strange goldencolored chest. "He always brought home with him, trinkets and toys, for Nero to play with. Most of these things were harmless, but then one day..." Inside the box, were puzzle pieces, golden puzzle pieces. "A puzzle?" The claydoll did not expect that. "Yes, they were found inside an Egyptian tomb. One that had been ransacked by grave robbers several months earlier. All that was left was this box and a few pieces."

The flashback continued, a woman-figure entered the scene, apparently making a fuss about the gratuitous gift. "They guessed the thieves were either to careless with what they collected or in a hurry to escape with the real valuable goods. The Old man found them interesting regardless, and gave up a weeks pay to get his hands on these. Which he then showed to 'the son'. But thats where the bad stuff began." Just then there was a scream, as the images shifted into the next day, without warning. "!" On the ground lay the same man, and besides him was the stunned shocked female, also with a blurred face. "Mother." Nero was there as well, the young Nero. Their yells were incoherent and unreadable, garbles and gestures. The woman ran to the phones, and when she was gone, the boy looked up. "Mom does not know..but...I did this." He looked straight at Jacob and Arahabaki. "Yes, we...I did. Eheh. It was our first penalty." Flashes of the heinous act shot before his eyes, the fate of a fathers poor unfortunate soul.

Then all went dark once more. "So that happened. There was an evil presence hidden inside those pieces, and you were it?" The entity shook his head. "I call it a power, Symbol, a skill. The skill to control the minds of men and women, a shadowpower. 'Nero' was too weak to accept this power, so I did it for him. The Father was an accident, but after that I learned to control it." Visions of other victims slided by. "Pulse, Edgar and Rose, they were all test subjects, and each time, I grew stronger and stronger." He clenched his fist. "I am the true Nero now, the other one is no longer needed." It fit together again, the bizarre history of the duelist Nero. "So Nero was the trespasser all along. But it was not his fault, it was yours. You did that to the judge." Jacob was surprised to hear that Doe knew about that, but he refused to comment. "And what about his mother..." The reason for his inability to reach his parents was less mystifying now as well. "Wait." However the Persona stared behind his host, and saw something new.

"What are those?" He spotted two wooden doors, floating in the middle of a black void beyond the flashback zone. They were sealed shut by chains. "That is not for you, to know." He denied him the information, though he could figure it out for himself. "And you have stayed inside me for far too long, its over, Symbol!" His forehead began to glow with the Eye of Wadjet and he used the energy to dispel the shadows completely. The two minds were forced back into the real world, and Nero snapped out his secondlasting trance. Doe blinked, and realized Arahabaki had found something, and his enemy knew it too.

"Eheh, that was fun, Jackie. But you will never know what happened, because I intend to keep your Hermit." He placed his hand on the disk. "Now where were we? Oh yes..." Super Fusion had finished its job in the real world meanwhile. Evil and Earth joined... "Behold what you and me have given rise to: Evil Hero Dark Gaia." It was a twisted amalgam of his spirit and Doe's Persona. "This feels great, enslaving another soul, eheh." Doe cringed. "Let me tell you: Dark Gaia (3700/600) gains the attack and defense of its materials." Arahabaki's 2100 attackpoints were combined with Infernal Gainers 1600. "Secondly, he flips all monsters to attack mode, when it strikes, negating their flip effects. Whatever you had facedown, it cant stand up to this much attack force. So, you're dead." He entered the battle phase. "All of you." Dark Gaia attacked, Jackson gulped. "Your end at the hands of your own cards, thats delicous isn't it!" His facedown was flipped face-up, and was killed in a heartbeat. "I win, I am the champion!"

(To be continued in Testament 037: The Final Duel: The Champion)

**New Cards used by Jacob Nero**  
Evil Hero Lightning Golem  
Evil Hero Dark Gaia

-  
Super Fusion

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**  
_Destruction from One's Mind_


	37. Testament 037: Champion

Testament 037: Final Duel: Champion

Stull running through the long endless hallways of the arena floors, Carter and company stumbled upon an unexpected sight. They halted in their tracks, hiding behind the corners, because Ananka sensed a disturbance. "What is it?" Ned whispered while poking William. He sighed and took a quick peek. "Huh." He saw one of the usually quite secretive white coats, walking out in the open, pressing several buttons on doors. "What is he, he is not a judge or even a janitor." He wondered and tried to get a closer look. Only then did the man turn around and nearly spotted his observers. "Ggh." Will retracted his head at the last possible second. The coat stared back for a few more moments, and then finished his task, sealing off the door he was messing with. Then when he was gone, they could breathe easily again. "Who was that? Why is he shutting down rooms and lockers?" Zoro asked, but not even Ananka knew. "He is not...common." Carter had seen something else as well, under his hood: pale glowing eyes..

Jacksons LP: 300

Dark Gaia completed his attack. and managed to slay the Symbol, inflicting damage. Yet something was wrong. "He lived?" The audience saw it, he saw the lifepoint count, and twitched. "Might I ask, why you did not die. I am certain I inflicted 1900 damage, thats what my counter says." That was more then what Jackson had left. "You did, but my technique was not a flip technique." He spoke with a soft and caring voice, next to him stood a female monster card(1800/700). "You struck me, Cybele of the Lovers. Yet before you did, you activated my abilities when Gaia's flipping effect resolved. When a monster effect resolves, I give the controller 600 lifepoints." So his lifepoints were 2200 and not 1600, before he received 1900 damage. "Tsch, after all those annoying memories, you still refuse to die." Dark Gaia retreated to his field again. It was exciting for the audience, they really though he was a goner. "Also, you activated a trap card." Cybele Doe flipped Damage Equals Soul Energy. "We received 1900 damage.."

_Cybele, Symbol of the Lovers 4/1800/700 Light/Fairy/__Persona  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a 'Persona' monster.  
Monster: When the last effect resolves, you gain 600 life points.  
Spell: When the last effect resolves, you lose 1000 life points.  
Trap: When the last effect resolves, you gain 700 life points._

"So we can summon a Persona that has less then 1900 attackpoints." He searched his deck and summoned. "Mother Harlot, ehehee." A woman came to the platform, seated on a throne of skulls no less (1600/1400). "Now, I guess its up to me, to set my unfortunate sibling free." Arahabaki's soul was still trapped inside Nero's mind. "Do your worst. End turn." He/she cackled and drew a card. "_What is her annoying effect?" _Jacob wondered. "The Damage equalizing trap does not count towards a Persona, so the last effect activated was a monsters." That would be Dark Gaia. "My monster effect is: I can discard a monster card to kill one type of monster. I declare death upon all fiends on the field!" Apparently she had a tribe-infecting virus-like quality, as Dark Gaia was reduced to a skeleton by her influence. "He is wide open, if he attacks now. Jackson will win.." Cleo commented as she was basically cheering for him in her own way. And Colin held his breath, the duel could be decided in this very moment.

_Mother Harlot, Symbol of the Empress 4/1600/1400 Dark/Spellcaster/Persona  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a 'Persona' monster.  
Monster: Discard one card from your hand and name one attribute. Destroy all monsters on the field of the chosen attribute.  
Spell: Once per turn, discard one card in your hand.  
Trap: Destroy one face-down spell or trap card on the field._

Jackon waited until he felt a familiar pulse, and he smiled. "Arahabaki is freed, now we can finally end this!" The Harlot opened her hand and made an energy blast for Jacob. "You... mock me!" Jacob sweated as it came close. Unfortunately it never arrived. "I remove Necro Guardna in my grave from play, to negate your attack!" They had forgotten he had discarded that earlier with Super Fusion. "Damn. He wont lose either!" So Doe placed a trap and a monster card and ended his turn. "Ggh, bringing me this close to defeat, all of you annoy me. But, once I win, all your souls will make me infinitely stronger!" He activated a spell."Fifth Hope! I can send the elemental cards back to my deck, to draw two cards!" He sent back Stratos, Burst Lady, Sparkman, Ocean and Bubbleman, and drew his cards.

"Heh. And since there is nothing else on my field or in my hand, I can draw a third card." He liked these cards very much. "Again I see that mind of yours at work, its hope is it not? You think that with only one Dark Fusion card left, he can't possibly fusion summon, right?" He played a spell called, Dark Calling. "WRONG!" It was the darker version of Miracle Fusion. "I can Remove the materials in my cemetery, to Dark Fusion summon something!" He removed Malicious Edge and a LV.6 Fiend, Lightning Golem, from play. "My greatest and most fiendish card: Evil Hero Malicious Devil (3500/2100), the strongest Evil Hero." Doe gulped, before him stood a darkblue leatherclad demon, his face was masked and his claws were lethal. "It is you, who will face defeat, you!" The Devil flew into the air, lashing out with both claws. "No, not yet. Not to you!" But he flipped his trap, Protection From One's Mind. "I block your attack!" He returned Orpheus and Abaddon to the deck to shield his monsters against the Devils claws.

"What, you want to die by Nero's hands instead?" He felt insulted. "You still think you can find and save Nero, psh." Then he placed a two trap cards facedown, leaving his hand empty. That was sad for Harlot, since now she was stuck with her spell based powers, which was her negative effect. "I know where he is, I know how to free him." The Hermit told him about the doors, the chains, everything. "Spell card: The Tarot. If you send your monsters to the deck, so can I." He sent five Persona monsters (Cybele, Arahabaki, Shiva, Scathach and Norn) back to his deck, and drew two new cards. A trap card and Lucifer. "You can not stop me, Jacob." Doe shifted voices again, as he normal summoned Lucifer, Symbol of the Star. It could be summoned without tributes, but then its stats were halved (1500/800). He also placed the trap facedown. "We know he is in there somewhere, we are of course familiar with such feelings. He is the true owner of this soul, not you!" He then finished his turn. "Meh, you bore me now, its time to settle this."

_The Tarot, Normal Spell  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a Persona monster card. Choose five Persona monster cards from your graveyard, add them to your deck, and shuffle it. Then draw two cards from your deck. If both drawn cards were Persona monster cards, you may shown them to your opponent to draw one more card._

"I Flip my Spell card!" It was Nero's turn, and he looked like a man at the end of his patience. "Dark Fusion Recovery!" He played the evil version of Fusion Recovery. "You should be able to tell what this does, I add Dark Fusion and a fusion material uses for a Dark fusing to my hand." He retook the spell and E-hero Avian, which was used earlier to call out Inferno Wing. "Then, I combine it with Wildheart in my hand!" He played the spell to Dark Fuse Wildman and Avian into the wind ruling demon. "Evil Hero Wild Cyclone (1900/2300)" Since a spell had been activated, Doe could use Lucifers effect (1000/300) to add a normal spell card from his deck to his hand: Extension of One's Mind. But his defense could not be lowered any further, so that was the end of that effect. "Cyclone may be inferior to Malicious Devil. However you can not activate any traps or spells during his strikes if he declares an attack. And he kills all set MT cards if he delivers damage!" The Cyclonic fiend started up a tempest.

_Dark Fusion Recovery, Normal Spell  
Add 1 'Dark Fusion' and 1 fusion material monster that was used for a 'Dark Fusion' fusion summon, from your graveyard to your hand_

"Then we will not wait for his attack, will we?" But Lucifer Doe responded with a trap card, Mind Infection, before the enemy could declare his battle phase. "This will wipe out all your monsters, while mine get sent back to the deck!" He shuffled five cards into his deck. Malicious Devil and Wild Cyclone succombed to their mental infections and fell down. "Now your evil ones are all gone, while my souls are all alive once more." Jackson stated. "If you persist, so can I." Yet, the dying Evil Heroes healed their wounds at the endphase, and rose up again. Wild Cyclone was summoned in defense mode too. "What, how?" He cursed. "I activated my trap card, Evil Mirage." The darker version of Elemental Mirage, the same trap he used against Christine. "All your hard work was for nothing after all. You can not win this, ever!"

_Mind Infection, Normal Trap  
__Choose five monster cards from your graveyard, and send them back to your deck. Destroy all monster cards on your opponent's side of the field that are in attack position. Skip your next battle phase._

"Draw!' It was the symbolists turn, and he drew a trap card. However with Wild Cyclone still a threat, its effectiveness was questionable. Mother Harlot was no longer stuck with her negative effect, but as long as it was not her monster effect, she was useless. And Nero had no set cards on his field anymore. "I set a trap and.." Luckily he had another card in his hand. "Play this magic card: Extension from One's Mind. I can add any Persona I wish, to my hand. I choose...Death." The card which won him the duel against Ananka. "I sacrifice Lucifer, Harlot and his facedown monster (Support Consciousness Anger), to tribute summonThanatos, Symbol of the Death (3500/3500)." The villain just smirked. "So you want to kill me with that eh?" Their strongest cards were each others equals as well. "Death also represents a change, spirit. A change for the good of all." Thanatos Doe talked with his sinister tone again. Sadly as a drawback to Mind Infection, he could not attack this turn, something that Jacob was well aware off.

_Extension of One's Mind, Normal Spell  
After the activation of this card, choose one 'Persona' monster card from your deck, show it to your opponent, and add it to your hand. The hand is then shuffled._

"Ha, even if you could attack me, they would die together. You can not attack anything besides Malicious Devil, as long as it is on the field." It was his turn again, and he drew. "And this will be terribly easy, all I have to do is suicide slam that monster, and attack directly with the Cyclone." The only thing that could stop him, was Doe's last card, that facedown trap. Thanatos waited for the words, and kept his hand close to the trap. "A..!" That was the first letter of the word, and he was about to react. Except then something odd happened. Malicious Devil refused to strike, no, Nero refused to enter his battle phase. "Gghk, what is this?" He cursed. The crowd was as curious as he was, even the Outerdeck host. "Did he forfeit his attack, because he feared that trap?" Marcus asked his bodyguard. "I do not know sir." The man shrugged. Still struggling, Nero ended his turn. "Odd, Nero didnt seem like the type to hold back, until now." But there was a reason for everything and Thanatos understood why it happened.

"He did it." Jacob flinched. "He is still inside you, struggling to break free. Just now it was not you that ordered the Devil to stop, it was him." The fact that his opponent started to grind his teeth, proved that he was right. "It ends with this draw." He summoned a monster card, another Support Consciousness, Sadness (500/500). "Union monster?" Sadness equiped itself to Deaths Persona, strengthening him (3700/3700). "This strike will take down your Malice, and your chains, Jacob." The symbol jumped forward, cutting the Evil Hero in half with his sword. "Ghk!" And the cut did not stop there, it travelled into Jacobus's body, into his mind, straight at the chained door. "No!" And the chains were broken... The scene was silenced, as if they knew the severity of the situation. Thanatos spoke once more. "Nero, can you hear us."

Nero's LP: 1050

_Support Consciousness-Sadness 3/500/500 Water/Spellcaster/Union  
Can only be equipped to a 'Persona' monster card. A monster equipped with this card gains 200 attack and defense points, and when a monster equipped with this card succesfully attacks and destroys an opponent's monster as a result of battle or its own effect, discard one card from your opponent's hand._

He spoke to the soul inside the mental cage that was Jacobs viciousness. The first door had been opened, and he was no longer held back. "I am..Nero?" He wheezed, as he suffered a bit from the cut. "It worked?" Only Colin and Cleo seemed to notice the change, the rest of the people thought he was just over-reacting. He took a deep breath and exhaled, it had been several hours since he had been able to do that. "Yes, you are him." Jacksons said. All the while the people were yelling at the two gamers to get on with the duel already. "That means, that I...wait. If I am here, then where is...the other me? If the duel is still going on, then.." At the same time, due to Support Consciousness Sadness, he had to discard a card from his hand: Elemental Hero Burstinatrix. "The Elemental?" He was too confused, and worried. "I think I should.." And then, to the symbolists dismay, he started to convulse. "Hgkh! N..no!" His calm appearance returned to a sadistic one. "One last shot, Jackson!" He drew a card. "You still, are not gone?"

"Of course not, this game wont end until one of us dies. That is the rule of a shadowgame. You may have freed Nero, but mentally I am still the stronger one!" He then flipped the spell card during his draw phase still. It was actually thanks to this that he survived. "This card is from a friend: Spell Textbooks!" This was one of Glyphs cards, a strange textbook opened. "I can add the top card from my deck, to my hand. And if its a spell, I can activate it immediately!" He drew and his face twisted into a truly hideous expression. "Dark Calling!" Colin gasped, he knew what the plot was. "I Fusion summon, Infernal Sniper!" He combined the Clayman in his graveyard with Burst Lady, to call out the same Evil Hero (2000/2500) that gunned down Christine. "If a cheap shot is what it takes, you will get one!" He laughed, he was sure to win now. As soon as his draw phase was over, the standby phase would begin and he would inflict 1000 damage to Jackson. "You never learn, your fate is already...written down!" Except, he forgot about a trap.

_Spell Textbooks, Quickplay Spell  
Discard your hand. Draw 1 card from your deck. If it is a spell card, activate its effect.  
_

The one that had not been triggered last turn. "Mind Impact! I sacrifice myself, to defeat all lesser creatures on the other side!" Thanatos was level 10, while both Evil Demons were only level 8. So all monsters on the field were destroyed by the Impact, before a shot could be made. "No, NO!" And Jacob really started to lose it. "You can not do this, you son of a..!" He swore loudly. "The same trick wont work twice, Jacob. Its a shame, but you had to push us both to the edge." Suddenly images of all Persona Monsters appeared behind Jackson, as they spoke in unison. "Let our final card be your ultimate destiny, Arcana Draw!" Doe drew his last card, and summoned to the field. "They chose me: Attis, Symbol of the Hanged (1100/1000). I am enough to stop this torment, and erase you from Nero's mind. As one must die at the end of game, by your own rules." Nero was unguarded, so Attis took out his curved dagger. "This is your judgment." He leaped forward and stabbed the spirit of Jacob in the chest, dropping his lifeforce to zero.

Nero's LP: 0

_Attis, Symbol of the Hanged 3/1100/1000 Dark/Fiend/Persona  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a 'Persona' monster.  
Monster: Once per turn, choose one card from your opponent's hand. If it is a monster card, remove it from play. If it is not, discard one card from your hand.  
Spell: Once per turn, choose one card from your opponent's hand. If it is a spell card, remove it from play. If it is not, discard one card from your hand.  
Trap: Once per turn, choose one card from your opponent's hand. If it is a trap card, remove it from play. If it is not, discard one card from your hand._

"Argh! You..all of you." He reeled backwards, falling from Nero's physical body. "This is not the end, you.." The spectre started to wither, vanishing into the wind. "I am Eternal, I can not die. Death is not the end, its only..a change.." He cackled, before the pain caused him to scream, and then he was finally gone. "Its over, Nero..everyone."

(To be continued in Testament 038: Take your Price)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
Evil Hero Malicious Fiend  
Evil Hero Wild Cyclone

-  
Dark Calling  
_Dark Fusion Recovery_  
_Spell Textbooks (+)_

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**  
_Symbol of the Lovers - Cybele_  
_Symbol of the Empress - Mother Harlot_  
_Support Consciousness - Sadness_  
_Symbol of the Hanged - Attis_

_-_  
_The Tarot_  
_Extension of One's Mind_

_(+) Based on the spell Yugi used in Battle City and the Ceremonial Duel_


	38. Testament 038: Take your Price

Testament 58: Take your Price

The holograms faded, the disks shut down, it was over. The crowd was stunned, silenced by the triumphant last blow, for half a minute everything was motionless. At this time, Carter and company finally joined the stands, rushing in from the hallways. They too witnessed the final moments of the duel, along with Marcus, Glyph, Colin, Cleo, Simon & Simone and every mysterious observer that had been following the duel for the last hour. And after the 30 seconds had walked by, the cheering began, applauding and yelling, all for the winner of the tournament: Jackon Doe. "The winner, ladies and gentleman! Jackson is The King of Games!" The Judge finally anounced the results, making it certain that the contest title had been claimed by Doe. But in the midst of all this chaos and excitement, a calm duelist remained. He took neither pride nor glory in this victory, he was concerned with another. "Nero." He looked at the boy before him, still wondering if the spirit had been vanquished, since his epitaph had been a cryptic one.

"Jack.." He looked up. "son.." With a smile. "It is you." Doe smiled back. Technically he was talking with Attis' voice now. "I am back?" He looked around and grabbed his shoulders, just to make sure. "I think you are." Attis Doe smirked. "Then what about..Christine and.." He remembered they were victims of his inner darkness as well. "They should wake up shortly, if thats how these shadowgames work. The evil has been rejected from your body, we can no longer sense him." He assured him, as he would be the first to know if there was a secondary soul inside a body. "Are you sure, there is nothing left?" He was worried that there could be something like a seed, implanted in the brains. "Arahabaki has joined minds with you, if he were to surface once more, he would be the first to know." He nodded. "..Oh..then." He sighed. "What was he, why was he a part of me? Is it because of those things, my father gave me?" The puzzle pieces, the ones that started all this. "That I do not know. One door remains sealed."

Just then they became aware of the noise around them, and Jacobus realized he had lost the game. "Damn, even though it was not me that you beat, I still feel..." He still felt like he had lost a great oppurtunity, even though Jacob brought him this far in the first place. "Nero, you would have been the champion, if you had been in control." Doe said suddenly. "Then you would not have had to hold back Malicious Devil, and I would not have been able to save Mind Impact for when it really mattered." This did not really make him feel any better about himself. "Wait." Though now he became aware of Jacksons own unusual history. "How is it that you, came to possess all those symbols? Why are you." Doe just grinned. "That is a story for another time. Suffice it for me to say that, I am here on someone elses behalf. Someone that predicted damnation for this tournament, and I fear that Jacob alone would not worry him so much." He turned around walked away. "Nero, you should use this time. Something is coming, "

"I can not believe it, Jackson won!" Colin was livid, his prediction had failed and worked at the same time. The cards said that they would both win, which in his case meant that they both should have lost. "That means my first divination was incorrectly correct, and the second was really correct." He was so confused, and in came someone who would highten his confusion. "You know, officially, Nero never lost his duel, so in a way they both found fortune in this tournament." Ananka came up from behind, startling him. "Ha? Here to gloat, you do remember that he is the guy that beat both you and me." He rasped. "True, but I see now why the Arcana wanted me to lose in the semifinals." The Hanged Man hung himself that hour. "He alone could have freed Nero from themindprison." Colin stared at her with disbelief. "The hell are you talking about, Nero is not Nero, what!?" She glared back at him. "You haven't even figured it out yet? Even Ned was willing to accept it, my god you're dense." She laughed, he grumbled.

Nero then finally rejoined his crew, this time he was in a friendlier mood. He even gave Cleo in the distance a kind nod, which made her unsure on how to react. "So he's out, this spirit dealy?" Ned asked, obviously he had a hard time grasping the concept. "He said so, I trust him." He answered. "So what was it, magic. Like Ananka said she had? Or are you just a bit insane.." Carter was the next one to shoot questions. "Its hard for me to explain. And.has anybody checked up on Ms. Rose?" They had nearly forgotten about her. "Well we left Venice behind, and we have phones. Its just that." Nicolai tried once again, hoping that the static had been cleared up. "..Nothing, the line is still dead." In frustration he threw it at the floor. "How is that even possible, its a satellite phone! Is this something that Tumaga is planning?" He fumed. "The conspiracy theory again?" Carter moaned. "The contest is over, whatever chance they had at stealing the title, its gone." But Zoro insisted. "Lets just look around, for more of those white coat people." Though at this point Nero could only think about his own date. "_Not one phone?" _He just remembered parts of the past shown to Arahabaki. "_But then, I probably couldnt get in touch anyway..."_

"Well I have to shake his hand again." Marcus stood up from his seat, his bodyguard followed him. At that time, all white coats stood on full alert, and the second spy waited for the order. "So, Jackson, we meet again." He stepped unto the platform, to greet the new King of Games. "I can't believe a deck like yours existed, and you won too, good for you!" He laughed and slapped his back. Jackson Doe stuck to his solemn appearance all the way through. "You must be happy, can't you say a word of wisdom to the audience? Perhaps any duelist that wants to try his luck next year?" He was quiet for a moment, and then he gave a thumbs up to everyone. "Ah!" Williams almost fell backwards from laughter. "Marvellous, brilliant display. Such a fine actor." He stepped back, reaching for a suitcase.

"Course, the act its an act itself, eh?"

He quipped philosphically, which made Doe raise an eyebrow. "Now, before I crown you, King." He let the bodyguard open the case. "Would you mind, one last special duel?" From it came a new sleeker dueldisk model, which the guard placed on his wrist. It was greenblue instead of silver grey, and sharper looking. "You see, we at Outerdeck have made some new advances in the field of technology. What would be the best time to show them off, why here of course!" The guard also inserted his deck. "And against the champion, who will be the first to taste the new power from Temple Soft, Outerdeck and our latest companion in the biz." All talking stopped, and some dreaded the next words. "You may have heard of them...Tum'aga Inc. Our rivals." Neds jaw dropped. "We decided, to end the fued. In return, they gave us a nice new card." And then the guard activated his disk, not waiting for Doe to draw his cards. He immediately activated a spell card from his hand too, a field spell card. "What the hell is going on?"

Ananka and Cleo felt an incredibly powerful force rising. A green circle appeared below the threesome, inside was an odd starshape and strange symbols in the outer ring. "We call it, Seal of Orichalcos." The circle surrounded the two duelists completely. "Seal of..Orichalcos?" Nobody in the crowd had heard of it before, it was a spell card even rarer then SuperFusion, the Persona set and all Evil Heroes combined. Yet it only excited them more, they were still unaware of its hidden horrors. "That card is ..not good." Ananka said to herself. "Not good, how?" Though even Colin had to admit, it felt strange. "They will duel in that?" The green circle surrounded both the bodyguard and Jackson Doe, and an invisible barrier prevented both players from leaving the duel, this was not a hologram. "_This power, where did he get it?" _He looked at Marcus. This magic was ancient, it felt older then even Millenium magic. "Hmph." Then without warning, the guard drew another card and summoned a monster to the field.

Jacksons LP: 8000 Guards LP: 8000

It was a dragon Gray Wing , whose appearance looked almost lifelike. "By the way. Under the seal, all monsters will gain 500 attack and defense points." In fact its stats barely registered on the dueldisk. Only the sleeker sharper advanced disk noted its presence (1800/1200) But that was not the problem, the dragon roared and launched into an attack immediately. "Huh? It can attack during the first turn?" The dragon stabbed his javelin into Doe's shoulder, forcing him backwards. His lifepoints dropped immediately. "Thats not a part of its effect!" Ned protested. "Oh I am sorry, I forgot to tell you. This kind of duel is not turn-based, its real-time." He smirked as the dragon nearly made a second swing, and he did not have to discard a card to attack twice either. "You have to keep up with the times, or you will get crushed." Doe barely dodged it, and he was surprised that he could dodge it at all. "Real-time? Wow thats cool!" Someone said. "Yeah I cant wait to play like that myself." Still the audience was blissfully ignorant.

Jacksons LP: 6000

"This is bothersome." Doe spoke his first word, indicating that he was about to summon a monster of his own. "Like this, I assume." He drew and placed a card in his disk, it was the monster Arahabaki (600/500). "You're getting it." However he did not stop there. "Persona Summoner(1500/1500)." He played a second monster as well, so there were less limits in this kind of game. "I use his effect!" The Summoner gave some energy to the claydoll. But the dragon did not wait around, as it leaped into action once more, giving the Summoner a lethal blow to the head with his lance. Doe lost another 500 lifepoints, but he just smiled. "To late, now its my turn." Arahabaki had been given his power dose, the spell effect (2100/600) "That pain ends now!" Before the Lancer dragon could evade the strike, he was consumed by the symbols magical energy, and this time it was the silent bodyguard that took some damage. 'Well well, you have some sting after all." Marcus clapped his hands, as he watched safely outside the Seal barrier.

Jacksons LP: 5200 Guards LP: 7900

Arahabki Doe took the chance to talk with Williams." Marcus, I wonder how long you have been higlighting within Outerdeck. I know the company well, as someone inside made these cards for me. I know that they would never join with Tum' aga on their own free will." The representatibve just chuckled. "You know little, Outerdeck is but a shell now, we hollowed it out long ago. This entire tournament was Tum'aga's idea to begin with. People like Edgar were just diversions." Jackson had heard enough, and decided to press his attacks. But as the Hermit Symbol charged his lasers, the guard played his own cards. In fact he played a spell card, Polymerization. "He combines three monsters in his hand, to fusion summon!" Marcus explained, as three Blue-Eyes White Dragons were merged into one three-headed beast.

The Ultimate Blue-Eyes Dragon (5000/4300) was also empowered by the seal. "Holy, it looks even more impressive in this kind of system." Carter gasped, dragons were one of his favorite monster types. "Three heads, means triple the attack threat!" The doll gasped, as all three fired their own separate burst streams. "Only one I can block!" He took the first beam, shattering instantly, costing even more lifeforce. "Ggh." Quickly, Doe jumped to the side to get out of the path of the second beam. However the third was coming in too fast, so he had to defend against it. "I will do it!" Seth snarled, as the symbol of the Moon (1400/1000) came forth in defense mode, dying just as easily. But he at least safeguarded the rest of his vessels LP. "Ggh, thats just unfair." Cleo rasped.

Jacksons LP: 2600

The three heads charged again. "Spell card!" But he quickly drew and played the card: Law, Balance & Order. He discarded two monsters from his hand, to destroy one monster on the opponents field, since the guard had emptied almost his entire hand, just to fusion summon the Ultimate Dragon. "Too slow." Alas, since turns no longer had a meaning in the game, the enemy did not have to wait to tribute summon. He sacrificed BEUD for the Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, which was powered up by 300 points for every dragon in the cemetery (5000/3000). "Spells can not target this dragon." The Law magic deflected off of its shining scales. "Shining Nova!" And it unleashed a blindening energy blast. "Come, Empress!" Yet Jackson too could activate effects during the opponents rounds. He summoned Mother Harlot (1600/1400), and discarded the last card in his hand, to destroy all dragon monster cards on the field. "My power does not discriminate, so farewell to your miserable dragon." He/she cackled and attacked the guard.

Guards LP: 6300

The duel was almost to intense to follow, a lot of hearts started pounding. "Doe can win this can he?" Nero asked, but this situation was simply to unorthodox to be predicted. Even Ananka did not know what could happen. "Hmm, the champion packs a punch. I expected as much. But this kind of magic can not be dispelled by a multitude of souls, Jackson Personae Doe." The guard drew again, and activated the spell: Dragons Mirror. "Its time to use 100 power." The guard nodded, and in that instant he started shredding his suit, producing several black spikes and armor plates underneath. "!?" And in front of Doe came the fiveheaded God Dragon (5500/4500), Fire, Water, Wind, Earth and Darkness combined. "You have got to be." Harlot looked up, each head powered its own element. "Five attacks, five times 5500 attackpoints!" And they released their force, slaying Harlot before she could draw a card, and the other four gave no escape for the unfortunate Jackson. Silence claimed the arena once more.

Jacksons LP: 0

(To be continued in Testament 039: Every Soul for Himself)

**Cards used by Marcus' BodyGuard**  
Gray Wing  
Blue-Eyes White Dragon  
Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon  
Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon  
Five-headed Dragon

-  
Polymerization  
Dragons Mirror


	39. Testament 039: Every Soul for Himself

Testament 039: Every Soul for Himself

"Gkh, we failed..my..our mission." He slumped to one knee. The seal around him started to shrink at that time. "Oh, one more thing, the loser of an Orichalcos Duel forfeits one thing to the winner." The circle closed in on Doe. "His soul!" And then it struck him, causing him to scream with five voices at the same time. The souls of Jackson were sucked away from the host, right into a green jewel that Marcus held in his hands. He kicked the body to make sure, and it did not move. "Hmm, five souls, there should be more, right?" He shrugged and turned to the crowd, who were finally beginning to have doubts. "Waiting for another speech are we?" He nodded to the spy in the seats, a man with a green vest and pronounced sideburns. He in turn gave the signal to all white coats in the arena corners, whose eyes started to glow. "I shall give you one." Everyone was shocked to suddenly noticed them, and then to see them shift shapes in a violent way. They tore off their clothes, and started roaring as their true forms were revealed.

They were demons, huge bulking giants with malevolent eyes and thick plated armor. The bodyguard was like that too, and each carried an Orichalcos-style dueldisk. "You were all brought here, because you were the best of the best. The top duelists. But we never intended to give you a price, we just...wanted your souls." He smiled sadistically. "We wanted a special kind of soul, and she or he must be somewhere in here. Our trials were so insane, that also the chosen one would get this far. Such souls will feed our cause especially. The rest are just appetizers.." The others were to stunned to speak. "Now then, enough talk. All exits are sealed, all lines are down, nobody can help you now." The demons all activated their Seal cards, and started hunting down innocent humans. "Soldiers of the Orichalcos, let us begin the soul harvest." They advanced on the crowd. "For the glory of Creed." And Chaos broke loose. The minute the soldiers had revealed their true form, panic gripped all the heart in the rings, and most never stood a chance.

While they were initially capable of avoiding their hunters, soon the masses became to compact to flow through, easy pickings for the demons. The gates were sealed, no matter how hard they pushed, they could not get out. And when a soldier neared a group of people, he activated the same field magic that had entrapped Jackson Doe. Even if they did not want to duel, they were immediately enclosed behind the energy barrier of the Orichalcos, from which there was no escape. Thus the nondueling audience had even less hope then the others, as they were soulwiped right off the bat. The rest were only as lucky as their lifepoints, they had to be defeaten in a game before they could be sucked dry. Yet most did not adapt fast enough to the real-time duel monsters, they fell just as fast. The soldiers came from every corner, there was no bargaining with them, no pleading, they had no mercy. But even in this hectic scenery, there were some that could outrun the threat, and some even fought back.

Colin was not one of those, he ran as fast as he could, as a soldier crashed in from the stands, and a second from the stage. "_Aw man, this is ridiculous, why are they all coming after me? Ggh, It must be because of the red robes, they are like bulls, goddammit_!" He raced against the crowd, pushing others out of his way. "Its every man for himself, and thats me!" However he quickly found himself backed into a corner, along with the girl he beat in round one. "You again, you have got to be kidding me!" Lydia spat, as the soldiers noticed her too now. "Look if we fight together, we can get through this." He said. "Sounds good." She grunted, and the two armored fiends rushed forward, both heading into a corner. "Ready, one, two.." They braced themselves. "Go!" But Sairve suddenly ducked to the left. "What the hell!" She rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding them as well, as they crashed into the wall. "What was all that talk about teamwork, you little bastard!" She fumed. "I lied!" He ran off again, not waiting around to see the two soldiers recover.

Things did not go well for the others that did try to fight, especially because of Marcus who was overseeing the slaughter. His bodyguard was still in its own stage of battle, seeing as how his five-headed dragon never left the field. The five heads blasted random stragglers, and their 5000-attack point strikes were enough to kill several dozens in under a minute. "Damn you, if you think you can get away with this, think again!" It was a furious Sean Travers, who had struggled all the way towards Marcus, with a superpowered D-hero Plasma. "Fight like a man, and stop hiding behind your dragon!" The destiny Hero brought his claw down towards the first head, but to his dismay he could not even budge the beast. "Foolish Kid, remember your lores. Five-God Dragon is immune to every element, except light." And Plasma was dark. "No!" Then two heads bit the hand of the Destiny Hero, and the other three blasted it to pieces, along with Seans lifepoints. He collapsed as the seal claimed his soul as well. "Well this is going nicely.."

"I dont suppose your necklace can do anything to these guys?" Ned asked Ananka, she, Jacobus and Carter had barricaded themselves in a corner of the stands, they were getting pushed around a lot too. "Not really, but still we have to do something." She did not like watching as others fell. One look, and someone would just drop like a fly. "But its to erratic, I can not see straight with all these people." Just then Isshin was overpowered before their eyes, as his Strike Ninja strategies were to slow to handle the enemy's blows. "I just hope that Venice is safe, wherever she is right now."

Venice, who stayed behind in the medbay, heard a pleasant sound. A beep, a slow repeating beep. "Christine?" She gasped and looked at the bed, the monitor had started beeping. "That must be good, right?" She asked a nearby doctor. "Thats the brain wave meter." He was as surprised as the girl. "She is..waking up? Thats the quickest coma I have ever seen!" Edgar was less fortunate, because he still showed no recovery signs. It was either the severity or the duration of his penelty game, but at any rate the nightmare seemed to have permanently scarred him. "I have to tell the others!" She tried to use her cell phone, but she had no signal. "Huh?" It was just like with Neds case, something was jamming the signal. Just then, something else happened. "Hey doctor, who is that man?"

The nurse walked up to him, and directed his eyes towards the white coated stranger, waiting outside the room. "Never seen him before in my life." He stated. It was an eerie sight: a man like him, just standing there like a statue. This was the single soldier that had taken up the task of sealing off the outer exits, and picked off random people that hid inside the rings walls. It waited right outside the medical room, and transformed along with the rest of its brethren. No longer a mere stranger, but a demon in flesh and stone. "Holy... what is that thing?" The Doctor could not believe what he saw, and the nurse already fainted. "No, why me." Venice moaned, as the thing smashed through the windows. "I can not beat that. I can.." She looked back at Rose. "I can't leave either..oh what do I do?"

More then half the arena had been slain by now, and it became easier to move around. "Uh oh." Carter looked into the distance. "Hey, thats Dieter!" Nero gasped, as he saw the running rich kid. "Yeah, and he is heading our way, and he is followed!" Right behind him were three Orichalcos Soldiers, one already summoned a Deathcalibur Knight to the field. "Wait, we can use this!" Ananka said, as Carson came closer and closer. "Ggh, some deal this turned out to be, I did not pay a thousand to die!" Dieter whined, and then he heard a sound. "Hey, Carson, duck!" Nero yelled. "Huh?" He saw the foursome, and their four monsters. "Yeep!" He lowered himself in an instant, leaving the demon wide open. "Go, multiple angle attack!" The four duelists yelled, as Jumbo Drill, Arcana Force XX Judgment, Diabolos Dragon, E-hero Wildedge unleashed their powers upon the Deathknight and its master. The combined assault dropped its lifeforce to zero completely. And the armored fiend crumbled like dust. "Yes, we did it!" Ned cheered.

"Aaah!" Dieter shrieked suddenly, one of the two remaining soldiers had leaped into the air, and was about to crush Carter. "Look out!" He could not dodge it, and he closed his eyes to brace for an impact. An impact which never came. "What?" He looked up again, and the soldier towered right above him, it was held up in the air by someone else. "You need to stay on guard." A man spoke, he had lifted the creature with his own arm! "The..heck?" A man dressed in a grey near-black cloak, only his face was revealed under the hood, he had shining white hair. "Be gone with you!" He shouted at the confused Orichalcos soldier, and discarded him like a mere fly, tossing him against the third that had followed Dieter. They were stunned. "How did you do that?" Nicolai asked. "You can not relax yet." He answered "Look, I can not handle all of them by myself. You already know how to take them down, so start telling everyone to fight back already. Fear will only lead to damnation." He looked specifically at Dieter. "Protect the ones that can not duel, and inspire the ones that can. You outnumber them, remember?!" That was true, only thirteen of the accursed soldiers remained. The two that had been thrown around like rag dolls slowly got up again.

And just then one of the dragons five heads tried to sneak in a strike on the strangers back. "Hmph." Yet he flared up a strange dark aura, and the fire blast was dispelled as if it were mere wind. "You dare?" He looked at Marcus, and his bodyguard. Then he released a blast that resembled the dragons own from his hand, which instantly decapitated the fire-elemental dragon head. Williams was surprised for the first time since the invasion stared. Others looked up as well, bugging their eyes out. Even Marcus had the expression of moderate surprise. "_Well..I did not expect a high caliber, yet non-competing duelist. I wonder who this fellow is." _The sudden shift of mass panic to stunned silence, was enough to get some duelists spirits raised up again. They started to fight back, and tried to defend the citizens at the same time. However they had to put a lot of effort to survive against even one of the Orichalcos soldiers. "So, who will we attack?" Ned asked, for the moment they were free to make their own choice.

"Its obvious, Marcus is the target. Take out the leader, and the pawns should disperse." Carter claimed. "Its true, I can feel that he is the one who collects all the souls." Ananka said. "Then he will be mine." The stranger leaped into the air. However before he could reach him, the four remaining dragon heads released their own energy bursts. "Not so fast!' Nero acted quickly and summoned E-Hero Electrum to the field, a warrior thats also had the power of all five elements. It jumped in the path of the beams, and absorbed all energy. "Lash back at it!" Then the Hero fired a golden energy ray, which ripped through the dragons body, killing it at last. "I thank you for this, duelist!" The stranger yelled as he proceeded, and landed on the platform, right in front of his target. Carter and company would have joined him, if it hadnt been for the two Soldiers that spotted them, and stomped towards them. "Damn, guess he is on his own." The four duelists turned their attention to the other foes.

The guard soldier tried to intercept the white haired man, but his lifeforce had been lowered when Nero destroyed his main monster card. "Out of my way." And he used a concussive burst to blast the bodyguard away, sending it flying into the audience seats. " ..." He looked to the left and right, seeing the bodies of Jackson and the Judge, then he focused on Williams. "I take it that you are controlling the demons here." The man asked the Outerdeck representative. "Maybe, maybe not, what is it to you?" He replied quizically. "Do not play games now. You do not strike me as the combative type." He said. "Quite so, I am still but a man. Only the white coats who have been transmutated into Orichalcos soldiers can react fast enough to sustain real-time duels." He then showed the man a gemshard around his neck. "But, I am the harvester. This jewel collects all souls that my men collect, and even if you shatter this, they wont be released. So, only I know, how to free the innocent." He smirked. "Shall we establish.. a trade?"

Meanwhile someone else faced less luck, due to her reluctance of working together. Cleo Caine almost refused to believe this was happening. "This is so stupid, why do they need souls of gamers!? And why wont this ring do something besides giving me good draws!?" She had somehow managed to bring herself at the high edge of the colloseum. And there her senses detected an unpleasant revelation. A soldier tumbled down the seats left of her, and she looked up to see an old man with a golden rod. "Ggh, it takes too much energy to bring even one of them down. These Tumaga people sure know how to have fun." Glyph wheezed, he had exhausted his mana while subduing that one soldier. Thats when he felt her cold glare. "Oh?" He saw Cleo, looking at him, and his item. "Yo..you!" She took but one second to make the connection. "You..are that perverted guy, Glyph!" She hissed. "This is awkward, I wished we could have met under more controlled circumstances. But whats a man to do.." He laughed and turned on her. "You are right, my Miracle Worker." Ms. Caine cursed, she was not safe here either. "I suppose I should not complain. Now... lets see if your item can stand up against mine."

(To be continued in Testament 040: An Unhealthy Craving)


	40. Testament 040: An Unhealthy Craving

Testament 040: An Unhealthy Craving

"_Tsch, what is he doing now?" _The second spy grumbled, as he watched the whole invasion from his lofty seat. While everyone else ran away, he remained, because even the mindless soulkilling knights recognized his authority. "_He can not engage with the enemy himself, the soldiers will be less coordinated. And if he loses, we will also lose all the souls we are collected so far_." He then produced a phone from his vests pocket, and made a call. "Yes, patch me through to the main office." He waited and then connected. "Yes, its me, Thorne. No, no everything is going fine. But just in case, I need you to send something."

"Trade?" The stranger raised an eyebrow. "A match, perhaps? I worked at Outerdeck long enough to duel myself. But I need to know your name first." The duelist before him did not feel like entering the tournament, he knew that much because his profile was not on any of the lists. "Anima." Marcus doubted it was his birthname, but accepted it for now. "Anima huh, well its a pleasure to meet you. You have some power for a mere mortal. But your soul remains as fragile as the others!" He took out his Orichalcos Dueldisk, placed it on his wrist and activated it. Anima did the same, as he used a common model. Both duelists drew five cards. "Now then, allow me to start us off. I shall play that field card which is the endresult of 10 years of research: Field Spell Card, Seal of Orichalcos!" Marcus too had his own accursed seal, and the green circle trapped both players behind unholy mana. "The point of no return." Anima sighed to himself. "You might say that, and for one of us its the end of the road. The seal always takes a life."

Anima's LP: 8000 Marcus's LP: 8000

He then placed a monster card facedown, ending his turn after that. "Now, I will get to see what deck you use, I reckon." Anima drew, and he summoned a little white creature, which was a threat none the less (1800/1550) "Oh my, its that deck." The monster before him resembled something from a certain video game. "The Nobodies from Kingdom Hearts." He knew it as if he himself had made it. "Another one of Cable's game-related sets, a tie-in promotion with the Square-Enix company." It was not very rare though, he wondered why he would use this deck. It did not indicate anything abnormal like the Persona or Evil Hero series. Anima then attacked. "Dusk Nobody, slay his facedown!" The demon shivered forward and swiped through a facedown worm monster, a slimy worm. "You killed Needle Worm(1250/1100), and it is flipped, in which case we have to discard 5 cards from our deck. Oh and I must ask, how many cards are in your deck?" The other stared at him a while before answering. "Just 40."

_Dusk Nobody 4/1800/1550 Light/Fiend/Nobody_

"I take it then, that your deck is a deck destruction variant." Marcus nodded. "Quite so, and now your deck only has 29 cards left." They ten took 5 cards from their deck and threw them away. Afterwards Anima ended his turn. "You see, deck milling was one of the first strategies developed in this game, along with clown control and warrior toolboxes. Its kind of grown on me, among all the chaos and theme decks." He drew again. "I noticed that Needle Worms stats were higher as well." The same had been applied to the guards dragons. "Yes. One of its first powers is to boost all monsters on my field, by 500 points. They also gain the darkness-attribute. And this is just the tip of its abilities. You will see more later on." He placed a monster card facedown and ended his turn. "I do not think so. I have no intention of letting this heinous creation exist any longer. I play my own field spell card!" Anima activated a card called 'The World that Never Was', hoping to replace The Seal as the active field.

_The World That Never Was, Field Spell  
__All 'Nobody' monsters gain 400 attack points, and can not be destroyed as a result of trap card effects._

Unfortunately, it shattered before it ever hit the platform. "Whats this, It can not be replaced?" The Seal itself prevented its activation. "I regret to inform you that it's not that simple, in fact it's quite impossible. The Seal is the only field allowed, all other spells will be banned in an instant. In fact nothing can destroy the seal, except for Atlantian magic. You might call it a spell speed 4 card." He laughed. "Speed 4, Atlantian?" If that much was true, not even counter traps could stop it. "Hphh." He summoned a second monster, the slithery Assassin Nobody (1700/1400). "This card can kill anything, regardless of its stats, at the end of the battle phase." He explained and charged with the shadowy Nobody, which struck the facedown. "Is that a good thing?" Yet it was another flip monster, the chaotic pod: Morphing Jar # 2 (1300/1200). "Its flip effect goes off. All monster cards on the field shall now be sent back to the deck. And we each pick up cards, until we have as many monsters in our hand, as were bounced back."

_Assassin Nobody 4/1700/1400 Light/Fiend/Nobody  
__When this card succesfully attacks an opponent's monster, after damage calculation, immediately destroy the opponent's monster with this card's effect._

Marcus drew two cards, Anima four. "The LV.4 Monsters are set facedown, the other cards are discarded." He placed one monster, the white haired duelist placed two. "That leaves 26 cards in your deck and 8 cards in your graveyard." And it was his turn again. "I suppose I have been defending enough now. I can tell you are beginning to get annoyed. I summon this monster card, Watcher of the Crypt(1500/1400)!" A demonic cemetery keeper appeared, and the seal appeared in its forehead, giving his eyes a crimson red glow (2000/1900). "When this card destroys a monster as a result of battle, two cards are discarded fom the top of your deck. See it as an inversed Don Zaloog." The darkness empowered Crypt demon slammed his fist down into Anima's shield monster, a Dancer Nobody (1500/1500). Now two cards were thrown away from Anima's deck. "24 cards." He counted once more, and placed a trap card down. "Your move."

_Crypt Watchman 4/1500/1400 Dark/Fiend  
__Every time this card destroys an opponents monster card as a result of battle, send 2 cards from the top of your opponent's deck to the graveyard._

The security rushed to the soldier, who tried to take down the people inside the medical bay. However he easily pushed them aside, knocking them out with simple throws. Afterwards he activated his Seal magic, to steal their souls. "No, doctor, look out!" Venice shrieked, but it was too late. His body too was spritually sucked dry by the green light, after which the Orichalcos soldier turned on the hapless nurses and Venice. It roared as he noticed the girls dueldisk, creating grumbling noises that almost sounded like 'duelist'. Then it summoned a monster of his own to the field, a Chainsaw Insect (2900/500), and attacked her with it. "No!" Instead of defending, she ducked behind the bed, and waited for the assault. But then from nowhere came another sword and it intercepted the spinning saws of the bug "Well this is about the rudest wake-up call ever." Christine said, as she was the one to take the blow. "Ms. Rose?" Gray looked up and saw Rjak Baker, wielding a Genji Sword (2900/1800).

She had been half-awake for some time, and when she saw another duel monster, she called Rjak instinctively, Both monsters had equal power so they were killed at the same time. The soldier merely tilted its head and roared a second time. "Oh hey Venice, are you okay?" She asked. "I seem to have missed a lot, who are these guys?" The last thing she remembered was Nero beating her, and she had been released from the penalty game in time, before the nightmares would kill her mentally. "Oh wait, tell me later, he is coming again. Dont worry, I can take him." She smiled.

Anima was about to draw, when a continuous trap got in his way. "I pay 1000 LP to play: Walls of Decay!" And the floor beneath the two players started to ooze and fester. "This permanent effect forces a discard every turn, Anima." The oozing walls affected his deck and randomly devoured one card within it. "And that means only 23 more cards, before the seal takes a very potent soul, heh." But Anima was not that aggravated. "Seems like a heavy cost for such a small effect." Anima stated, and then he sacrificed his facedown monster card, another Dusk Nobody. "Tribute summon, Samurai Nobody" He called the dual wielding warrior Nobody (2100/2100). "Two swords, for your two monsters." The Samurai unsheathed both, and delivered a killing strike to the Cemetery Watchman, taking down 100 LP from Marcus. "Interesting, but you will find that hitting twice will hurt you.." The second blade clashed against the facedown monster, but he was pushed back, and now he suffered damage. "More then it does me." It was the defending Tomb Keeper (1100/2600). His defense had been boosted by the seal as well, so Anima was punished by 500 points. "End turn." He could not bypass that, he needed an even higher level.

Marcus's LP: 6900 Anima's LP: 7500

_Wall of decay, Continuous Trap  
__Pay 1000 LP to activate this card. During each of your opponent's standby phases, randomly send one card from your opponent's deck to the graveyard. During each of your standby phases, you must pay 800 LP. If you cannot, this card is destroyed. If this card is discarded from your deck to the graveyard, decrease your opponents lifepoints by 1000._

_Samurai Nobody 5/2100/2100 Light/Fiend/Nobody  
__This monster can attack twice during the same battle phase._

_The Tomb Keeper 4/600/2100 Dark/Fiend  
__As long as this card remains face up on the field, you gain 600 LP during your standby phase._

"Thank you." He drew a card. "Now you see, Walls of Decay have a heavy maintenance cost because its a very old card. It was produced before proper themes could be established. Call me out-of-date, but I have not changed my deck much, since I started working at Outerdeck." He then payed 800 LP to keep the continuous trap active. "Not that it hurts me much, I can keep it up for a long time, thanks to my monster card. The Keeper will heal me every turn." He gained back 600 lifepoints. "Your deck now holds 22 cards." Then he did something odd, he placed a card in the MT zone. It was placed sideways, indicating that it was a monster card. "Did you just.." Marcus nodded. "Yes, you saw right. The second power of Orichalcos is this: monsters can be placed in the magic/trap zones. Think of it as a backseat for warriors; meaning that they can not be attacked.. Unless the front row monsters are taken down first." He ended his turn. "In that case, I will have to defeat The Keeper, before I can hit your other monsters."

Marcus's LP: 6700

He said, and drew. The Walls once again forced a random discard from his hand. "That would be true, yes." Anima looked at his hand, he had a hightribute monster that could crush the shield monster, but it required two offerings. "I set a monster card, and switch the Samurai to defense mode. Its your turn, sir Williams." He said. "Oh thats another thing I should mention." He smirked. "You can call me: Simmons, Marcus Simmons. Since my true agenda is revealed, I might as well discard my fake ID." The fake name came along with the Outerdeck job apparently. "What is this agenda of yours then?" He inquired. "Now now, it would not be very fair for me to divulge precious information to you. Not only would the Kartel be upset, but you havent told me anything about yourself yet. I only gave you a name, because you gave me mine."

He drew again, paying 800 LP for his trap and gaining 600 from the monster. Then he played a card. "Quid pro quo, as some fancy terminologists might say. I play the spell: Hand Destruction. Both players must now discard two cards from their hands, and draw two new cards." Marcus tossed away two monsters, and Anima selected a trap and a monster. "You are no normal gamer, I can see that. You have strengths beyond those of the average mortal. We implemented the use of ID cards to measure a duelists strengths, but you dont have one, so I will have to ask you myself" His opponent remained silent. "Of course, if you wont tell, we will have to dig it up from your soul." He placed a trap card facedown. "We can deduce the quality of your soul before or after. 18 cards are now left inside your deck, your move." He was done. "I wonder why...for what possible reason would you collect souls?" Marcus would of course not answer that question. "In any case, you mistakenly act as if my defeat is already made certain.. Draw."

Marcus's LP: 6500

He still had two monster cards on his field, so he could sacrifice them. The Decaying Trap randomly took another card from his deck and he entered the main phase. "I give up both my monsters, for this card: Twilight Thorn Nobody!" The Samurai and the facedown were replaced by a slithering sharp giant of a demon(2500/2000) "With its basic stats it can not destroy The Tomb Keeper, however its effect..." The Twilight demon charged itself. "For every Nobody in the grave, it gains 200 attackpoints. There are eleven of them, thanks to your endless discards." The Thorned Nobody (4700/2000) then swung his leg around, swiping the Keeper into separate pieces. "Thats okay, it was in defense mode anyway." Anima then placed a trap. "Yes, but with the Keeper gone.." He would have to pay the full cost of the Decaying Walls. "Your turn." Marcus drew. "Oh I have another method of dealing with that." He payed the 800 lifepoints. "I play the continuous spell Card: Deadly Appetite!" The body or Marcus started to glow.

Marcus's LP: 5700

_Twilight Thorn Nobody 7/2500/2000 Light/Fiend/Nobody  
__This monster gains 200 attack points for each 'Nobody' monster card in your graveyard._

"What does that do?" The card was not that familiar. "Simple. It will give me lifepoints, every time you have to discard a card. I built this deck from scratch you know." He was rather proud of his creations. "That Nobody which Cable created is an interesting card though. I simply must test it out. So I will introduce you to the opposite of Snatch Steal" He played an equip spell from his hands, and it was placed on the Twilight Nobody. "Scream from Beyond!" A loud shriek invades the demons mind, overpowering his free will and forcing it to walk over to Simmons side. "I made it myself, like Snatch Steal it will enslave an opposing monster. I made this, while other card creators made Snatch Steal. And that was the one that was greenlighted, but its banned now, so...score one for me." The Nobody lost the previous powerboost(2500/2000), since Marcus had no Nobodies in his grave. However the seal started to glow on its forehead, and empowered it (3000/2500) with dark energy instead. "Direct attack!"

_Scream from beyond, Equip Spell  
__Take control of a face-up monster on your opponent's side of the field that is equipped with this card.  
Decrease your Life Points by 1000 points during each of your end phases. _

_Deadly Appetite, Continuous Spell  
__Every time card(s) from your opponents hand or deck are discarded and sent to the graveyard, increase your LP by 500 points._

(To be continued in Testament 041: Forza Del Male)

**Cards used by Marcus Simmons  
**Needle Worm  
Morphing Jar # 2  
_Crypt Watchman_  
_Tomb Keeper_

-  
Hand Destruction  
_Deadly Appetite_  
_Scream from Beyond_

_-_  
_Walls of Decay_

**Cards used by Anima  
**_Dusk Nobody_  
_Assassin Nobody_  
_Dancer Nobody_  
_Samurai Nobody_  
_Twilight Thorn Nobody_

_-_  
_The World that Never Was_


	41. Testament 041: Forze del Male

Testament 041: Forze del Male

Cleo and Glyph were still facing each other with their millenium powers. Though all the goth did was put the ring in front of her, which somehow deflected the rods hypnotic aura. But the enemy started to wheeze. "_Tsch, I spent too much on those Orichalcos slaves, I cant overpower her with magic, let alone force_." Glyph grunted, as wrinkles started to form on his face. "_I need to feed again, and the bastards have stolen all spiritual energy in this area._" He finally retracted his weapon, as he spotted several soldiers and duelists headed this way. "Giving up already?" She said with a smirk, hiding her own exhaustion. "I am merely retreating to a previous stage, my miraculous miss Caine." He took a step backwards. "I will come for your item another time, if it even is an item. Because it is not the ring I expected" Then finally he reached the edge, and seeimingly tumbled backwards. "Hey!" She rushed over to track his moves, but he was already gone from sight. "How the.."

Anima was about to receive a direct attack from his own monster. But he flipped a card. "Trap card: Rebirth by sleep! If the enemy has more monsters then I do, I can special summon Nobodies from my cemetery! Youy have two monsters on the field, so I can special summon two of mine." He revived Assassin Nobody (1700/1700) and Dusk Nobody (1800/1500). "Oh? In that case..." The latter was killed by the Twilight. "Anyway, I assume you have seen the drawback of the Scream. So.." He flipped his trap card, Eradicator Epidemic Virus. "The virus?" The Deck Viruses were some of the most powerful traps in the game. "Yes. I can sacrifice dark-monster with 2500 attackpoints or more, your Nobody, to destroy all spell cards in your hand and on your field for three turns!" A dark virus came from Twilight Thorns body, which crumbled. "But the Twilight is light-elemental." He protested. "Heh, thats the Seals third power remember? All Orichalcos monsters gain the attribute of darkness, even the ones I steal from you." The infection spread into Anima's hand, infecting a spell in his hand. He threw it away, so Deadly Appetite gave Marcus an additional 500 LP

_Rebirth by Sleep, Normal Trap  
__You can only activate this card if your opponent has more monsters than you on his side of the field. Special summon a number of 'Nobody' monsters from your graveyard until you have the same number of monsters as your opponent. Monsters special summoned through this effect can not attack during the first turn_.

Anima's LP: 6300 Marcus' LP: 5400

He had avoided the cost of 1000 LP this way. "Your turn." And he gained 500 LP again when the Walls of Decay discarded another card in Anima's deck. "15 cards to go." Anima drew, and fortunately it was not a spell card, it was a special kind of monster card. "Mr. Simmons. If you know so much about this game, then this will not surprise you either. Its not my true power, but maybe the next stage will cause more concern. I summon to the field, Luxord of the XIII" He called out a special kind of Nobody-monster, a humanoid. It was the tenth member of Organization XIII, an organization from the games, devoted to heartlessness. Each member had the Nobody-subtype and the elements of darkness and light as well. "Oh I saw that coming.." Luxord was a blond man(1300/1200), wearing the ensemble black cloak that all thirteen carried around. "This is the Gambler of the Organization. His effect depends on the die roll." Anima explained as several cards floated around him. Luxord was known for his card-related abilities.

Marcus' LP: 5900

_Organisation XIII-Luxord the Gambler of Fate, __3/1300/1200 Dark/Light/Earth/Spellcaster/Nobody  
__Once during your main phase 1, you can roll a die, and activate the following effect depending on the roll.  
__1-Send this card to the graveyard  
__2-Discard a card from your hand  
__3-Destroy one monster on the field.  
__4-Destroy one spell or trap card on the field.  
__5-Destroy a face-up monster and a face-up spell/trap card on the field.  
__6-Draw three cards from your deck, and discard two cards from your hand._

"And here is the first roll of fate." Luxord shuffled his cards around, each card represented one of the six abilities he had. The fourth card was eventually chosen. "When the result is four, one spell or trap on the field must be destroyed. I choose your Decaying Walls." The fourth card sliced into the oozing trap, destroying it. No more did he have to discard every standby phase. "Next, Assassin Nobody strikes!" The shadowy Nobody swiped into the monster that had been cowering in the back row until now. It was an Undead Legionnaire(1900/1900). "It is stronger in defense." Anima lost 200 LP "But since the Assassin kills anything it touches after the damage step.." The Legionnaire still collaped. Leaving Marcus open for a direct attack from Luxord. "Aha! When you kill my Undead, you must discard a card from your deck!" He said before the attack came. Thus Anima had to discard a card again. And Deadly Appetite gave the opponent 500 LP back. "Take this anyway." Luxord still struck the man directly.

Anima's LP: 6100 Marcus's LP: 5100

_Undead Legionnaire, 4/1400/1400 Dark/Zombie  
__When this card is sent to the graveyard during the battle phase, send the top card from your opponent's deck to the graveyard _

"And now its my turn." He drew again, and placed a monster in the back row. Though that did not have much of a point, since there were no more front row monsters. "_My facedown card is Morphing Jar, that will be sure to deplete your deck. Along with the virus which is still active_." He smirked, and also activated a spell card. "First I severed your hands, now I will make them fall into oblivion: Hands of the Fallen." He payed 800 LP. "This will send up to three cards from your deck to the grave. That just leaves you with 10 cards in your deck, eheh." Meanwhile the deadly continuous spell continued to boost his lifepoints. "Of course, you are still free to attack me, I am sure even a quarter of your power can put up a good game." He ended his turn "Even under these circumstances, I will not yield. Marcus Simmons." He drew a card,

Marcus's LP: 4800

_Hands of the Fallen, Normal Spell  
__Pay 800 LP. Send 3 cards at random from your opponents deck to the graveyard_

But it was a spell, and the virus still had two more turns to ravage his deck, so he threw it away. "_Ggh, just one more turn of this_." And again Marcus gained 500 lifepoints. "Honestly Anima, you're nearly gone. I do not know why you bothered to even come here. You could have survived if you had not meddled in our affairs." The man sneered. "You dont know me very well, Simmons. I knew evil would strike this place, so I waited for the right time to come out and protect the innocent and the helpless." He entered his main phase and summoned a new monster. "Sniper Nobody." A small gunwielding demon became his third ally (1300/1700) "Then why you would help these fools? Look at them, all of them, struggling to survive. They waste their existence, so why shouldn't we use their souls for a greater purpose?"

Marcus's LP: 5300

_Sniper Nobody 4/1300/1700 Light/Fiend  
__If this card face-up on your side of the field during the standby phase, you may choose one monster on the field.  
As long as the monster remains face-up on the field, decrease the ATK of all selected monsters by 400 points._

Anima looked around, and saw how the Orichalcos Soldiers had killed almost every nonduelist already, few humans were still walking. "As I said, you dont know me very well." However he ignored his hateful words, and reactivated the effect of Luxord. "Spin the cards." He shuffled them, and this time he got the fifth number. "Now one spell and one monster will be destroyed. I choose your facedown and Deadly Appetite." Both shattered, rendering Morphing Jars (1300/1200) flip effect ineffective. "Triple direct attack!" The sniper fired a shot, Luxord hurled his cards and The Assassin stabbed Marcus from behind. The three of them nearly brought him down to his knees. "Ggh. Lucky shots." However as he drew his next card, a smile returned to his face. "I will admit, you pushed me quite far, Anima."

Marcus's LP: 1000

"However I can not abandon the cause.. for the sake of Tum'aga Inc, I must crush you!" He played an equipment spell. "Allow me to show you, the rejected version of Premature Burial: Dead Reawakening!" Anima gained 800 LP as a cross formed on the ground. "The cost?" And the dueling platform cracked open, allowing a dead monster to return to the living. However it was far stronger then anyone would have expected, it was a chained spectre, carrying tombstones and coffins within its hollow body (2600/2200). "This is the Grave Wraith." Marcus said, as the Orichalcos Seal formed on its body (3100/2700) "The best part is; you have to send cards to the grave, equal to the level of the Wraiths victims! And also, this card gains 100 attackpoints for every card in my opponents cemetery!" The ghost released several chains, which punctured the floor underneath Anima. It sucked up all dead matter inside. "There are 27 cards in your grave." The cemetery wraith gained 2700 attackpoints (5800/2700)

Anima's LP: 6900

_Dead Reawakening, Equip Spell  
__Select 1 monster from your graveyard. Special summon it to the field in face-up attack or defense position, and equip it with this card.  
Increase your opponents lifepoints by 800 afterwards. When this card is removed from the field, the equipped monster is removed from play._

_Grave Wraith, 8/2600/2200 Dark/Fiend  
__This card can not be normal summoned, except by tributing two monsters with the same attribute. This card gains 100 attack points for every card in your opponent's graveyard. When this card destroys a monster as a result of battle, your opponent must send cards from his/her deck to the graveyard equal to the level of the destroyed monster_

It then killed the XIII Gambler with ease, inflicting 4500 points of damage. Luxord had three stars, so three cards were selected for discarding by a reluctant Anima. The Wraith powered up even more (6200/2700). "Six cards in your deck, running out of time to be a saint I'd say. I could have even taken out more cards by killing a four star Nobody, but then I'd risk the chance that I get gambled to death" Anima only gave him a foreboding glare, as he entered his turn. It was the virus's last turn, but still he drew a spell card. And the Virus took it away. "I set monster card. And I switch my monsters to defense." Even if the Assassin could kill the Grave Wraith (6300/2700) with its effect, the difference in attackpoints would cost him his life. All he could do was use the Snipers effect to lower the phantoms power a little (5900/2300).

Anima's LP: 2400

But that influence was only temporary. "Draw." He added a trap card to his hand and placed it facedown. At this point the virus stopped haunting the field. "Your Assassin may provide some defense, but... now Grave Wraith destroys the Sniper. And you have to discard four cards from your deck." There were only five left, before the hit. "Now you only have one card in your deck. Thanks to deckout, this will ..." the Wraith was back to full power(6700/2700). And that was when he saw something shocking. "Wait...those are...two cards?" Anima nodded. "Yes. But you did not miscount. I lied earlier. There are 41 cards in my deck, because one is special to me. And I saved it along with another card for very last turn. Since you allowed me to select what I want to keep..Let us see which of the two I will draw now" He drew the semi-final card from his main deck. "Tribute summon." He tributed the Sniper and the other monster he placed facedown. But first he flipped that card (1900/600) face-up and activated its effect. "The final memberof XIII, Roxas."

It was the darkside of Sora, who was the protagonist of the game this set was based on. "Is this your special card? If not, why did you keep it?" Simmons asked. "This cards power is determined by the fallen Nobodies, the ones you were so eager to discard. So its mirroring your trump card, I guess. 100 for every Nobody, and 300 for every Organization Member." In the grave there were 9 nobodies (3400/2000) and 11 members (6800/2000). "Heh, thats still lower then my cards attack, since you just sent two monsters to the grave." Yet Roxas attacked anyway. "Wait, what are you doing?" He then flinched. "Oh no..my monster." Flinched in terror as he saw that the Wraith had been tainted (6500/2300). "Before I sacrificed him, I used the effect of this card to weaken your undead." He showed the top card from his grave: Xigbar, another member from the XIII. His effect was similar to the Snipers. "It weak enough now, Roxas can vanquish it." And so he did, the heartless Sora stabbed the Wraith to death.

"And for the record, this was not 'that' card."

Marcus's LP: 700

_Organisation XIII-Xigbar the Freeshooter, __4/1900/600 Dark/Light/Warrior/Nobody  
__At each main phase 1, if this card is in face-up attack mode, you can reduce the attack and defense of one monster on the field by 400._

_Organisation XIII-Roxas the Key of Destiny, __7/2600/2000 Dark/Light/Warrior/Nobody  
__This monster card gains 100 attack points for each 'Nobody' monster in your graveyard, except for a monster with 'Organisation XIII' in its name. This monster also gains 300 attack points for each monster in your graveyard whose name contains 'Organisation XIII'._

The Grave Wraith was slain, leaving Marcus defenseless against whatever that special card actually was. "_Damn it, I can not lose here. I will be replaced like.." _He however flipped his trap card. "Chthonian Blast!" And just as sudden as Anima had taken the lead, did Roxas explode. "This hellish trap will destroy the weakest monster on the field, if a monster on my field is killed. Then both players take damage, equal to half the attack of the monster!" So both duelists lost 3400 lifepoints, dropping them to zero at the same time. "Then what happens?" Anima rasped, as he waited for the seal to react. "Oh nothing, heh. If the players tie, both get to live. A shame really, but I refuse to go down so soon." The Orichalcos Seal faded, freeing both players. "And whats next, I wont give up my quest for that jewel of yours, which contains so many souls."

Anima's LP: 0 Marcus's LP: 0

Marcus just grumbled, but then he heard a loud noise, and a helicopter swooped in from the side of the arena. "Ah, how convenient. It looks like my escape has been arranged, heh." It got closer to the platform. "You think I will let you get away?" Anima asked as the chopper stopped right above the two duelists, blowing wind everywhere. It was so loud that it even drew the attention of the real-time fighting duelists. "He won, or did he lose?" They wondered. Just then a rope ladder was thrown out of the vehicle, which Marcus grabbed on too. "You do not have a choice I am affraid." He sneered as the dead Orichalcos Soldier next to him suddenly started convulsing. "What?" Anima could sense a lot of energy build up. "Its going to..." He looked next to him, at the bodies Jackson and the Judge. "Farewell, Anima, see you in the afterlife. Heheheh!" Marcus laughed as he was lifted upwards. And soon after the soldier exploded in a violent display of rubble and steel, swallowing the three while Simmons was carried to safety.

"No!" Nero gasped, nobody could have survived that. The helicopter headed for the south ring, towards a waiting Tumaga spy. "_Hmph, I can see why Cadron is so amused by these human-bombs_." It was he that flipped the switch, setting off the bodyguard soldiers bomb, so that Marcus could escape. "But I can not risk setting off any more, our special soul may die to soon." He also grabbed hold off the ladder and was taken away by the chopper. Both villains retreated to the south. "They have escaped. What about that person?" Ananka looked at the smouldering platform, however Anima was no longer there. Unseen by anyone, he emerged from a shady spot next to the impact crater, having with him the soulless bodies of Doe and the Judge. "He survived?" They saw him soon enough, even though they did not understand how he escaped the blast. "Did you win? Did you get the soul gem back?" Carter approached him with questions that everyone would like to have answered. He lowered his head slightly and sighed. "No, we tied."

(To be continued in Testament 42: Dying to Meet You)

**New Cards used by Marcus Simmons  
**_Undead Legionnaire_  
Morphing Jar # 1  
_Grave Wraith_

_-_  
_Hands of the Fallen_  
_Dead Rewakening_

-  
Eradicator Epidemic Virus  
Chthonian Blast

**New Cards used by Anima  
**_Organisation XIII-Luxord the Gambler of Fate_  
_Sniper Nobody_  
_Organisation XIII-Xigbar the Freeshooter_  
_Organisation XIII-Roxas the Key of Destiny_

_-_  
_Rebirth by Sleep_


	42. Testament 042: Dying to Meet You

Testament 042: Dying to Meet You

Things started to wind down in the collosseum, the Orichalcos knights put up much less resistance with their leaders gone. "Are these people at all anymore?" The last one fell at last, shattered into dust. "Keep away from the corpses, they may detonate like that last one." The survivors were few. Despite their best intentions to protect the innocent, a thousand souls had been claimed. A handful of people remained, and most of them either cried or complained. The duelists were somewhat more fortunate, of the 32 contestants, 13 had been sucked dry by the Seal. Victims included Isshin, Rita, Lydia, Sean and Alfred. "Poor guy." Colin said as he saw his body. "But rather you than me." He added under his breath. "This is ridiculous, who the hell are these people to come to our place and demand our souls!" He then yelled again, which started a chain reaction of loud shouts and objections. Dieter threatened to file a lawsuit and Deepgrave released a long line of expletives, most were meant for Marcus Williams/Simmons.

"Everyone calm down!" The crowd had to be broken apart by Ananka, and Anima joined her side. After he set down the bodies of the judge and Jackson Doe. Nobody noticed that the latters left hand was twitching. "Indeed, this is not the time for your personal feelings, whats done is done. Now we need to focus on the restoration of these profane acts." He looked at Ned. "You, take some people and scan the area inside the ring, see if there are some survivors or soldiers left in there. Then check for any exits to this place." Nicolai was surprised. "Hey, why should I take orders from you, I dont even know your name!" He rasped. "Excuse me for my impatience, but time is off the essence. My name is Anima." This time he sounded a bit gentler. "Ned this guy is okay...okay? He did help us and sent off that Outerdeck bastard." Carter added. "Psh." Finally Ned accepted. He took Carter and Dieter with him. "Wanna come too Nero?" William asked. "No, its fine." He said, and they went on their way.

He had a reason to stay behind.

Soon afterwards, Ned came back, with two cheery customers. "Venice, Christine!" The two girls were with him and greeted with cheers. "You had a soldier after you as well?" They gasped incredulously. "Yeah but we beat it too, didnt we Venice?" Rose poked her back with her elbow. "Ehr yes.." Gray whispered, since Christine had done most of the work. "_Ms. Christine_." And she was the source of Nero's reluctance. _"I..no Jacob...he put her through so much pain. But now, she seems fine again_.." He could not look her in the eyes, for he felt responsible for the deeds of his darker side. Edgar may have deserved it, but she did not. Thankfully Rose did not seem to want to talk about it to him either. "Ahem, all gates are really sealed shut, it will take time to break free." Carter told the self-imposed team leaders. "Okay, then lets explain the others." Since the judge's mic was blown up in the soldier selfdestruction raid, they headed for Marcus' skybox and spread the word from there. "Testing." Carter did the talking. Everyone looked up.

"Everyone that has survived, I will tell you who caused all this." He took a deep breath. "A company called Tum'aga Inc did this. I do not know why, but they wanted us dead, for their own personal gain." They left out the more magical properties of the story, since most humans wouldn't believe it anyway. Another stream of questions headed their way, and Ananka stepped up. "Look, we do not understand why they went after us. We do know that the company merged with Outerdeck since a few weeks ago." Ned agreed with that theory "Yes, all those rumors of a spy and a rivalry were just smokescreens to lure us away from the real problem. Edgar was a distraction, there was no real illegal duelist." He glanced at Nero briefly. "I even think that strange explosion in the basement, and Bastions sudden vacation, are related to this. They wanted us to stay here, and it looks like they will get their wish, unless we find some transportation. All lines are down, something is blocking every method of communication with the outside world."

But it was William who had a brilliant idea. "Well, there is some mode of transport around here, remember?" He pointed up. "The company zeppelin. I can not imagine that Marcus would fly that thing all the way from his company to this arena." It has to be stored somewhere. "If I am right, Outerdeck has a facility near here, where Marcus works." He could guess these things, due to his connections with his brother. Though right about now, contacting him would be impossible. "Outerdeck huh, I sure would like to file a complaint there." Cleo said. "They can not get away with this, nobody touched the master of fate!" Colin ranted. The question was now, who would come with them to help interrogate Outerdeck. It did not take long for the doors to be opened: with the quick help of Neds computer skills, a surviving security guards access codes and a few able hands, they were able to open the western exit. Yet once they were outside, they found out that getting off of this place was not very likely. "Where the hell are all the cars and boats?" Cleo asked.

The streets were empty, all shops were closed, and not a person remained in sight. "Do not tell me, they zapped the entire town dry of souls as well?" Ned rushed over to the homes, and saw that they were all empty. The bars as well, it was as if there had never been any citizens. They checked the hotel, and the personel there had also evacuated. "Nothing, nobody. This is just like when.." He realized something, the third trial, a trial that was never honest "They hired actors to pretend to be duelists. They also hired an entire town of actors?" Tum'aga had that much influence? "No wait. Perhaps they were always... every actor was one of those soldiers in disguise." That theory couldnt be tested right now though. "All that trouble and money for a few souls, that really pisses me off." This left them with a new predicament. "Whatever is blocking the signals, its effect the entire city in a wide range. But I expected that, since it was like that before the final round." But what blocked the signals, they did not know.

Even though the current attackers had been stopped, the eyes of the enemy had not yet abandoned the area. High in the sky, beyond clouds and ozon, rested the beholder of Tum'aga. A super sensitive satellite, which recorded all activities on the duel island, and sent the images towards the tower of the Creed siblings. They were the massacre's only viewers, as all other lines were jammed by this same station. "Feh." Simone got up from her seat, breaking her glass in a burst of anger. "You need to stop doing that sister. At least he collected a thousand or so souls.." Simon grinned. "Do not jest brother, our operation has been tainted, our intentions uncovered. That idiot Marcus failed us, we should have sent someone else to infiltrate the company!" She turned around. "We are to assemble for a meeting then?" He asked her. "Yes, I want him and Thorne here, in this tower, immediately. Its time to gather the four Kartel members. We need to discuss on how to get rid of the survivors, before they tattle to the world."

In the end, they found just one large van just outside city limits. Not even Tum'aga could empty the area in such a hurry. Nine people decided to travel towards the facility. Will lead them, as he knew his way through places like these, and he had a drivers license. Since Nero, Ned and Venice were his closest companions, they wanted to go along. Colin and Cleo were following them mostly because of their recent loathing for the company. Ananka was there as well as the voice of reason, or so she said. Rose felt like she had to be there as well, due to her strong sense of justice. Finally Anima went with them, even though he did not say a thing throughout the entire trip. William estimated that it would take half an hour or so, before they could reach the place. The rest stayed behind in the arena, under the supervision of Dieter Carson. "I hope the others will be okay. They want to go home and leave this city as fast as possible." Christine sighed. "I hope not. Who knows there may still be soldiers in the city, they need to defend together."

Before they reached that place though, someone else did. The helicopter that had taken Marcus to safe grounds, landed on top of a four-story building. 'Williams' was greeted by his assistants as soon as he stepped out of the vehicle. They were shocked to see him in such a worn down state and tried to tend to the damage to his clothes. "No need, no need. I am fine." He brushed off his coat. "Have there been any calls for me in the last hour or so?" He asked, expecting to hear from the Creed siblings any minute. "Two calls, one personal, and one coded message." He gave him a CD-rom. "Hmm, personal? Who is it..." He passed it on to his associate, the Tum'aga spy. He ran it through his personal decoder. "Ah, It is sir Cable. He wished to meet with you on the matter of the tournament." He said. "Oh right, the autograph signing of the champions card, I completely forgot. Speaking of which, I can use him. If I am right, a few important duelists will want to follow me." He nodded at his accomplice and left him, while he descended the stairs.

He approached the man downstairs, a young man. Cable Fraser was his name, he had black hair, an official-looking suit and square shaded glasses. "Ah sir Cable, we meet at an ill time. I dont think you will be able to see the champion" He spoke with a heavy voice. "Williams, what happened?" He saw the mans state, and wondered why he looked so grave. "Oh, a dreadful thing I am affraid. The crowd was.." He coughed. "They went mad, when I anounced the champion of the tournament. They started to tear down the place, guess they disagreed." Cable gasped. "What, really? Violence in a childrens card game contest?" He was stunned. "I fear so, I made it out in time, before they started wrecking seats and wires. I think these vandals planned ahead too, since one of them disconnected the communication lines." He put on as much seriousness to his sentences as he could. "Card Game hooligans, I can not believe it." He shook his head "Yet it is true, and I think they will come here next, the entire mob. Thats why I am ordering everyone to leave this place, the cops will arrive to late." It was a good thing that lying was Simmons speciality, after all Cable still believed his name was Williams. "This is unheard off.."

The heroes got closer and closer, in the distance they already saw the building with the ODE-logo. "About time." Cleo wheezed. "I guess your magic ring does not give you stamina." Colin half-joked. "Shut up for one second, will you?" She hissed. "The great Colin does not have to listen to words of spite." He smirked. "They are getting along great." Ananka laughed, while making sure they could not hear her. "Bickering will only cost energy, stop arguing you two." Will said, he was not tired yet, but even he started to regret to make such an exhausting journey. But they were almost there. "Christine I..." Nero sometimes tried to get Rose's attention. "Never mind." But he backed down whenever he got close enough. Deep down he feared getting to know what her penalty was like, and she seemed so calm right now, he did not want her to remember that time. "_Ugh, idiot_." Cleo noticed this too, and she started to get slowly annoyed by it. "_At least your victims are waking up again... that guy Glyph is not so kind.._."

Finally they arrived, the van stopped just outside the parking lot. Outerdecks building was as you expected from company standards. A tower surrounded by several development blocks, and a lobby in front of it all. They almost expected to see a smoke stack. "So this is it huh, this is the place where cards are made." Rose smiled oddly. "Yes, but now that they have allied themselves with Tum'aga, we can not trust them anymore." Ananka stated. "Lets go..wait that noise." Nero heard a familiar sound. "Up there." Anima said calmly, as the same chopper that escaped earlier, left the area again. "Whaaat!?" They yelled, they had missed their chance again. Inside the vessel were Marcus and the spy 'Thorne', who did not notice how close the children had come. "So the decoded message said that all kartel members are to meet again, eh. That includes us." Simmons sighed. "I know Creed will be mad at me for failing to get all souls. But now I also have to meet Cadron in person again." He shivered. "Cadron is a valued member, you know that. Reserve your hatred for the newer members...by the way, what did you say to get rid off Cable?" Thorne asked Marcus. "Heh, I told him a fairy tale about villains and heroes."

The duelists tried to get into the building, specifically the area where the blimp was placed. It was easy enough to get inside, but the people behind the reception desk stared at them oddly. "These are the winners?" And they were intercepted in the lobby, by someone else too. "This is the mob?" It was Cable. "Mob?" Venice flinched, as if she expected to see a group of demons. The desk people were just as confused. "I think he means us." Cable then came closer. "Are you? Are you the ones from the arena?" he almost sounded demanding this time. "Who wants to know, are you a friend of Marcus?" Nero asked carefully. "Yes, I am. Can I conclude then, that you are his enemies?" The silence said it all. "I see, I did not want to believe this, but he told me enough." He suddenly discarded his longcoat and revealed his dueldisk. "Leave now." He shouted at the servants, who quickly abandoned the reception desks. "Wait, who the hell are you?" Ms. Caine rasped. "That is." Ned and Carter knew the answer already. "Cable!"

(To be continued in Testament 043: Unscheduled)


	43. Testament 043: Unscheduled

Testament 43: Unscheduled

In the arena, people had calmed down again, and they even started to have some fun with the dead bodies of the Orichalcos soldiers, despite their explosive nature. "Melanny wonders what makes them tick." The gothgirl poked one of them with her disk. Dieter meanwhile tried to keep a group from leaving the arena. "Why should we listen to those people? They up and left us, they didnt even try to call for the authorities." But there was no convincing them, they wanted to leave this city more then anything. "But what if there are more soldiers out there?" But not everyone felt brave enough to head outside. "Oh come one. These things wont get up again, and we need to ..." But just then as one was about to point out the casualty rate, they saw something alarming. "Wait. We're missing a body..." They looked at the duel platform. Where once was the vset of victims created by Marcus, now only the judge's body remained. "Dont tell me that guy truly got up again...is this curable?"

"So at least some of you know my name, I guess you are more then just vandals. Yes, I am... Cable Fraser." The name was well-known to eight of nine people present. "He is the one that made all those sets to promote new games, like the Kingdom Hearts deck." Cable nodded. "Yes, you will have to get through me to go further. Me, the master of Gears, Frames, Heartless and many more." He placed his disk."The inventor of the game series?" Of course they did not expect to find him here. "Why are you here?" Ananka asked the man. "Better question, why would you make cardboard cards based on games, when you can play the games yourselves?" Cleo added. "Even though I suppose those things look awesome in three-dimensional form... still!" Cable however did not feel like answering either question.

Instead he opened his suitcase, filled with cards. He assembled his deck from several of his collections. "It is kinda pointless to ask things now isn't it. I thought you were in a hurry?" He started shuffling the deck, placing it into his dueldisk. Carter spoke next. "So, there isn't any way to convince you to let us go after Marcus?" Fraser shook his head. "Not after what happened." It was obvious to them that they would get nowhere with this man, unless they defeated him in a duel. And one man immediately rose to the challenge "I will handle this, since time is of the essence." William Carter activated his dueldisk, and shuffled his own deck into it. "So be it. I will allow you to go first." So Will drew his six cards. "_He probably did that so he could make the first attack. He has the advantage of surprise with him. I do not know what kind of deck he is using. He made dozens of sets, anything could happen_." He decided to take it cool for now, and placed a monster in facedown defense mode

Cable's LP: 8000 Williams LP: 8000

"Your turn." He said, and he nodded. "I assume you are at least wondering what cards I used, I could have selected many. You mentioned the Kingdom Hearts set, but it is not that one." He summoned to the field, a machine with heavy armor and two flame thrower units (1600/1400) "A firebat?" Ned gasped. "I see you are familiar with this set, or at the very least the game, already.." Cable smirked. "Yeah the latter." Nicolai played strategy games in his younger years, he would definitely recognize this monster. "Then what game is this?" Venice asked, she was less familiar with video games. "Starcraft. The space-age version of Warcraft. About the war between three races, Terrans, Protoss and Zerglings." The Firebat warrior demonstrated the power of its arsenal as it incinerated Wills facedown monster with the fire weapons. His monster card, a Cyberdark Keel (800/800), was burned to a crisp. "Terran Units eh?" Carter knew at least enough of the game to differentiate between the three armies.

_Terran Firebat, 3/1600/1400 Warrior/Fire_

"Well, then its a good thing I used my initial deck. To test the strengths of machine against legion." His turn came up "I summon Card Trooper (400/400), and use its effect to discard the top 3 cards of my deck to the grave, giving it 1400 extra attackpoints." The little machine poweres its cannons, as a dragon, a cyberdarkling and a spell card were discarded into the graveyard. It (1900/400) then blasted the Terran Flame Thrower into tiny pieces. "I see, you combine the cyberdark style with regular machines. Of course I did not cover the Cyber Dark Impact set. That was Marcus's doing." He sighed. "I do not understand why you would pursue him so, or why you would be so violent." He was about to draw. "Wait, we're not the violent ones!" Nero protested, but before he could get any clearer on the subject, Cable interrupted him. "Dont say anything during the game, whoever you are. I would not trust the word of a random gamer, over a fellow employee and close friend." Jacobus could not speak up again, and only he started to question Frasers intentions.

Cable's LP: 7700

"Now you know, that Card Trooper goes back to its normal attackpoints, during my turn. Thats why." He summoned a flying unit: The Terran Wraith (1800/600) It hovered up into the air, or at least as high as the ceiling allowed it to go. "Aerial assault!" The battle ship fired its lasers, destroying the weaker Gunman machine(400/400) "You then also know that, when it dies, I can draw a card from my deck." Which Will gladly did. "And its just the card I need!" Since they were all on a tight schedule to get even with Marcus, he took his turns quicker then usual. "I activate this spell! The eponymous Cyber Dark Impact! With this card, I can send the fusion materials for Cyberdark Dragon back to my deck, from anywhere. And then perform the fusion summon." He sent the destroyed Cyberdark Keel and the discarded Cyberdark Edge in his graveyard back to the deck, along with the Cyberfark Horn in his hand. "I fuse them!" Naturally Fraser knew this spell effect as well. "So here is, Cyberdark Dragon(1000/1000)."

Williams LP: 6600

_Terran Wraith, 4/1800/600 Machine/Dark  
When this monster is the target of an opponent's attack, you may discard one card from your hand to negate that attack, and remove this monster from play. If this monster is found removed from play during your standby phase, immediately special summon this monster in face-up attack mode._

It got 100 attackpoints for every monster in his graveyard: like the deceased Trooper. "Also, it also equips itself with a Tyrant Dragon(2900/2500), to further boost its destructiveness (4000/1000)" He discarded that monster through Trooper of course. "It attacks the Wraith ship!" The mechanical dragon released a stream of dark energy. Cable however was not impressed. "You must not have read the cards effect well, I can simply do this." Suddenly the ship shifted out of sight, and the beam travelled straight through its previous spot, missing the target all together. "Wait, what just happened?" Then in Cable's Turn, the ship returned to his side of the field. "I can discard a card from my hand, to remove it from play for one turn, and negate the attack." He explained. "Ah, thats annoying." He learned off another disadvantage, even if he knew what deck his opponent used, he was still badly informed of what it could do.

"My turn." Fraser drew a trap card, and placed it facedown. "I switch the Wraith to defense mode, and summon the Spawning Terrain Unit: Terran Vulture(1300/600). Each turn this machine will lay a mine. Tread carefully." The Vulture device loomed ominously on the battlefield. "That sounds all fine and dandy, but I can stop it before it goes that far!" Carter declared another attack with his CyberDark Dragon, however this time Fraser responded with a trap. "Activate Cloaking Field." He turned on a shield that reflected all visible light, which covered both units on his field. Due to this, Cyberdark Dragon could not see its targets. "Normally, the cloaking field disrupts the vision of the enemy, making them attack their own men." But Carter had only one 'man', his fusion card. "In this case, the only one it can attack however, is you. Its original attack is deducted from your lifepoints." Instead the Dragon released a small burst, which nailed Carter, inflicting 1000 damage. He had to read the card to understand why he was hit.

Williams LP: 5600

_Terran Vulture, 4/1300/600 Machine/Dark  
As long as this card is face-up, during your standby phase, special summon one 'Mine Token' (1/100/0 Machine/Dark) in defense mode. These tokens cannot be tributed during the turn they are created. If these tokens are destroyed as a result of battle, immediately destroy the attacking monster after damage calculation. You can only create three tokens during the game._

_Cloaking Field, Normal Trap  
You can only activate this card if a 'Terran' monster card is attacked by an opponent's monster. Activate one of the following effects  
- You can make 1 opponent's monster (except the attacking monster) be attacked instead.  
- Negate the attack and inflict damage to your opponent's life points equal to the original attack points of the attacking monster._

"Gh, good thing that Cyberdark Dragons original attackpoints are so low then." He then placed a monster and a trap card facedown, ending his turn. "At this point, the Vulture lays its mines." The terrain unit placed a Mine Token (100/0) next to it. "Then I sacrifice Vulture to tribute summon the six-star machine, Science Vessel Unit (0/2600), in defense mode. Its effect is to distort all other effects that target Terrans. But thats not all, Spell card: Irradiate!" Suddenly the science vessel released a blinding light which flipped Carters facedown Hunter Dragon face-up. "This spell can only be used when the Science Vessel Unit is on the field. It flips your monsters face-up and reduced their attackpoints to zero!" Both the hunter (0/100) and the CyberDarkling (0/1000) were weakened by the radiation. "I attack directly with the Wraith and the Mine Token." Both irradiated dragons were slain by the Terran machines. "He is tough.." Colin commented. "His deck reminds me of someone elses deck." He was not thinking of Anima either.

Williams LP: 4000

_Terran Science Vessel, 6/0/2600 Machine/Dark  
This monster cannot attack. When this monster is succesfully tribute summoned, immediately put it in face-up defense position. As long as this card is face-up, at each standby phase, reduce the attack and defense of an opponent's monster by 500. As long as this card is face-up on the field, 'Terran' monster cards can not be targeted by card effects._

_Irradiate, Normal Spell  
You can only activate this card if you have a 'Terran Science Vessel' your side of the field. Flip all face-down monsters on your opponent's side of the field face-up, and reduce the attack points of all monsters on your opponent's side of the field to 0 until the end phase of the turn this card was activated._

"You sure are dedicated, Mr Fraser. But I am affraid not even this will stop me." Carter drew, and special summoned Cyber Dragon form his hand, using its effect (2100/1600), and then he normal summoned Twinheaded Behemoth (1500/1000) "Are you going to attack with those? You know the mine will just explode, and the Wraith will just block your strikes." Carter shook his head. "No, I am going to do something better. I will fuse them all." He extended his hand. "I can remove Cyber Dragon from play, to call out Chimeratech Fortress Dragon. I can merge any machine with it, even yours." Cable gasped, as both his Terran vehicles were absorbed by the Cyber beast. "That card. Damn it." He remembered its devastating effect, and all of his current Terrans were machines "I call Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, who gains 1000 attackpoints for every machine that it absorbed." There were three machines (3000/0). "Now the Twinheaded Behemoth kills your token, and I will attack you directly!"

He was about to complete his attack, and Fraser even started to gulp, when suddenly someone else opened the doors, entering the lobbey. "Jackson?" Ananka was shocked. The others also turned around, stunned. Unfortunately for Jackson, his sudden arrival had less impact then he would have liked. "..." Mostly because Carter and Cable were to wrapped up in their own duel to notice them. "Double attack!" Carter repeated, as both monsters charged him. Twinheaded Behemoth charged the mine-token. "Tokens could not be used for this fusion summon, so it has to die the old fashion way." The dragon of course blew up when he tripped the mine, but it would return during the endphase with 1000 attackpoints. "Now here is the direct attack." The fusion machine fired at last, forcing Cable to one knee.

Cable's LP: 4700

Doe saw this and cringed, but he could not yell about it. "You survived being soul reaped, how the hell did you do that?" That about was the question that everyone threw at him, some worded it cruder or louder then others. "Everyone stand back, give him some room." Nero said, as Anima stepped up. "When I first saw you, I sensed no life inside your body, but now I sense many." Ananka also came. "Yes, thats his nature. Jackson Doe is a vessel that holds many souls, his Personae." Everyone gasped, and he nodded. "You mean it was not an act?" It came as a surprise to most, Cleo was not stunned, though her calmness about all this weirdness still annoyed her. "Bah, I knew that all along." Colin claimed softly. "Then, what happened to him? Did the Seal of Orichalcos only take a few of his souls, or his main soul, does he have one at all?" Ananka shushed the crowd again, before it got to loud. "Please, I need to concentrate." She pulled out her necklace again. "For some reason, its hard to hear their voices."

"You dare use my Terrans for your nefarious purposes?" He drew a card again, and was about to summon another monster. "And what is with all that commotion in the background, did your mob get reinforcements?" He asked William. "Huh, Oh I think its just...Jackson Doe?" He did not notice that until now. "Still, his presence wont distract us from.." Yet bBefore he could say anything, Fraser suddenly changed expressions. "Jack..son?" He then turned off the dueldisk, terminated the game, and ran away. "..Well, it did not distract me..just him."

Cable's LP: ERROR

The duelists surrounded Jackson as he was being investigated. "How did he get here so fast anyway?" Cleo asked herself. Soon Ananka finished her 'divining trick', as Colin coined it. "I see. The Persona monsters that were killed during the Orichalcos duel, they were stolen from you my Marcus, but the others remained. Yet it seems that you need all of them to talk, act and duel properly." Doe nodded again, right now gestures were all he could make, the spirits themselves were in a state of chaos. "Jackson?" Just then Cable joined the group. "Wh-what, the duel is over already?" Ned said with a dubious look on his face. "Wait, you know him?" Rose asked. "Of course I know him, the Persona set was made by me, for him!" He finally explained. "It is? Well that would explain a lot, like why there are two Arcana sets, and why his is so customized to his own weirdness." Cleo rasped. "Then I think, there has been a misunderstanding, but first." Anima stared right into the mans eyes.

"We need to know, how do you know him?" Fraser backed down, but Doe looked at him as well, he seemed to share their wishes. "I dont quite get what is wrong here, but..I will tell you." He took a deep breath. "I do not know much about Jackson here, he wont speak to me about his past. He and I met some years back actually, we lived at the same campus, played games all the time. Back then I was not working for ODE , he encouraged me to go for the job I wanted, that of a card designer. Later after I got the job, he came to me again, asking for something special, a personalized card series. He said he needed it for his act at the tournament, and the idea interested me enough to accept his request." He turned to Doe "Though you never did explain why you wanted to go there, but I knew something had changed. You looked determined to go to that place, as if things would go horribly wrong. But if you are their friend, why would Marcus tell me all those horrible things?" He wondered. "Oh, thats a not-so-short story." Cleo said.

(To be continued in Testament 44: Tower 0013)

**New Cards used by William Carter**  
Card Trooper  
Cyberdark Dragon  
Tyrant Dragon  
Twinheaded Behemoth  
Chimeratech Fortress Dragon

-  
Cyberdark Impact

**Cards used by Cable Fraser**  
_Terran Firebat_  
_Terran Wraith_  
_Terran Vulture_  
_Terran Science Vessel_

_-_  
_Irradiate_

_-_  
_Cloaking Field_


	44. Testament 044: Tower 0013

Testament 44: Tower 0013

Marcus was waiting at a long table, seated in a metallic chair. There were six chairs, and only two were empty. Next to him was mr. Thorne, opposite of him was Cadron, and the fourth seat was filled by a tall woman with a distinguished fur coat on. Just then the last two members entered the darkened room. "Ah gentleman and women, I see you have arrived." Simon Creed and Simone Creed walked up to the table, taking their place. "That means the Kartel is now complete, and we can discuss the latest events." Six Kartel Members had assembled to discuss the execution and rewards of the tournament.

"So I failed to collect them all, but thats only because your agents failed to gather all the intel, Cadron." He explained to the others. "People like Glyph, and Anima, you should have located them too." Cadron however just grinned. "Ah, but then the show wouldn't be fun. A touch of unpredictability adds flavor." He said as he licked his lips. "We did at least manage to gather a lot of souls." Thorne dropped the green shard on the table, it was brimming with energy. "Hmm, you can almost hear them cry in agony." A woman picked it up, to take a closer look. "You said your soldier defeated Jackson Doe, didn't you? That sounds like an interesting soul to.." But Cadron swiped the gem from her hand. "Thats my department, Justine, you stick to your devices, I will stick to mine." He grinned widely, as he inspected the green crystal himself. "But of course." She shrugged. "Please, please, lets keep the order, shall we?" The Creed siblings stood up. "We need to do some damage control, first we have to take care of the survivors."

"We can not allow another group to leave the city." She glared at Thorne. "I know what you hint at, madam. The system is still untested. But I have the feeling that today is the best day for a trial." She nodded and looked at the other three. "Cadron, after you extract the souls which you want to do experiments on, send it to the sublevels. Its time we stored more than just two." They exchanged a malicious smirk, signifying their agreement. Next Simon spoke. "Justine, oversee the transport of Outerdeck supplies, we need more of those Orichalcos Soldiers, since we lost a dozen of them." Justine looked at Marcus, winking at him. "I will do that, sir." Finally it was Marcus's turn. "We will forgive you for less then stellar performance, depending on how the situation turns out. We need not remind you, that everyone in this room, besides us two, is replacable." Simmons gulped. "I know." The siblings smiled. "Good, we reconvene in an hour. By then I trust the trial will have delivered something pleasant to discuss."

Back at Outerdeck, the duelists revealed to Fraser, what actually happened after the finals. The word of Jackson meant more than the word of Marcus. The news that one friend had won, was overshadowed by the atrocities of his other friend.

"He was a spy for Tum'aga, an infiltrant?" He could not believe it. "I worked with him for so long. He spied for all those years?! Sure we had our disagreements, like which Arcana Deck was better, but this I never expected anything like this." He started to look pale. "Now do you see why we are after him?" Carter asked slowly. "Yes, yes I do. I think even that this was why you wanted to be there, to stop whatever you felt was going to happen." He looked at Doe again, who lowered his head. Though he was right, he had failed to save the people. It was Anima that started the counterstrike, not him. "Then could you please tell us where is he now?" Christine asked gently. "I think, I think that.." He recalled the chopper. "I guess he went to one of the Tum'aga towers." They blinked. "Towers?" He nodded. "Yes, Tum'aga has several towers across Europe. Supposedly they all mine for that special alloy that made them so rich. The biggest is near the Atlantic, thats where Creed lives." That detestable name was dropped again. "Creed, I guess they headed this infernal operation. What I wouldn't do to get there." Ned slammed his fists. "If you really think you should go there, maybe we can... use the company blimp." That sounded interesting.

They all walked to a silo. But on the way, one duelist attempted something else. "Evil Heroes?" Cable was approached by the questioning Nero. "Never heard of them, maybe one of Simmons secret projects?" That answer did not satisfy him much. "And what about a phone call? Can we make one those." So he instead focused on getting in contact with the outside world, and maybe his parents. "I do not know if thats such a good idea right now, Nero." Carter said who overheard the discussion. "Marcus said they already incorporated Outerdeck. I dont think we can trust any employees here." The only reason they trusted Cable, was because he was Jacksons friend. "I still cant believe its happening. I never heard any warning, just rumors." Just then they arrived at the hangar. The blimp was being loaded with crates. "Its all automated?" Nicolai was impressed. "Yes, besides passengers, there are no humans on board. No pilot, no waitress, just machines." He took a deep breath. "And these crates are being shipped to Tower 013."

He checked the logs, and saw the changes in the schedule. "Thats the Atlantic tower. The merger must really be happening." He sighed. This was why this flight was automated, Tum'aga was not going to allow Outerdeck personell on their grounds. But this gave him an idea. "Wait.. I think you can hide on board, and let it carry you all the way to the tower. From there you can do whatever you want." That sounded good to them. "Dont you want to go?" They asked. "I should stay behind, to keep up appearances, Marcus will want to think he still has me fooled. And if Outerdeck is going to be taken over, I have to make sure its a smooth process" Doe nodded, and suggested that he would stay with Fraser too. "Well okay, we can handle it from here, I guess, we have enough enchanted people with us to take down a fortress." Carter smiled. "Right, then, it leaves soon. Prepare yourselves in any way you see fit. The least I can do is shut down the camera's, so nobody will notice you." He headed off, with Jackson in toe.

And they were determined to go towards Tum'aga. They forgot their own personal sorrow for that instant and focused only on getting justice for the souls that were taken. After Carter made sure that Jackson and Cabl would call for outside help after they left, they stepped on board. "Christine?" However Nero was still restless. As everyone got inside, he attempted an apology to her again. This time he managed to say a word or three. "Rose, I..I wanted to say that.." But she stopped him before he got that far. "Nero, its not me you need to say it too." She said in a way that confused Jacobus. "Come on, lets go." She smiled and walked on. ".." Yet he could not stop feeling that she still was feeling ill. But now was not the time to dawdle. Everyone else was inside already. _"This can end well, can it?"_ But what neither Cable nor the heroes knew, was that Tum'aga had infiltrated Outerdeck on more levels then one. They were inside their hardware already, and even with all cameras shut down, they could see the children make their trespass.

Inside meanwhile they made quite a discovery. "Hey dont touch those, William!" Ned warned Carter, as he tried to pry open one of the plastic crates. "What? I might as well try and see what they need from Outerdeck. Its not like anyone can see me." But when he forced the lid open, he encountered a shocking sight. "Waah!" The head of an Orichalcos Soldier dropped between his knees, something he most certainly did not expect to find. "Is that, its just its head?" The others were as stunned as he was. "Wait, now what are you.." Ned gasped, as Cleo walked up to the thing. "No don't!" He even shrieked, when she started poking it. "Tsch, dont be a girl, this thing is not alive." She lifted it, and showed that it was actually metallic, and robotic. "Wait..does that mean, that these things are just robots?" Rose wondered. "That can't be, I definitely sensed a soul inside, a wicked one, but still a soul." Ananka said, thought she no longer knew for sure. "Lets just seal it up again, before we land. Come on."

About 15 minutes later, several blimps arrived at Tower 0013, the first few landed behind the heavily guarded walls. There was a guard at every corner, armed with rifles. The walls were either electrified, or consisted of ten feet thick titanium. Even if one could bypass these defenses, they would have to get near the island first. But it was virtually untrace-able on radar, and communication was only allowed through its satellite network. And yet the team of eight had managed to enter this complex, by sneaking on board of one of the vehicles, which was about to touch ground behind these consecrated barriers. "So what now? Its not like they will invite us with open arms." Colin whispered, as the doors opened. Outside where more white coated workers, who would take the crates and containers outside. "Are those the soldiers, or machines? But they too feel alive.." Ananka did not know what to think. "Our course of action is simple, now that we are here, we should remain undetected.

"At least until we safely reach the leaders of this company." Anima said, as a strange energy surrounded him. It was slightly off-putting for the ones around him. "Nero, can I use your puzzle pieces for a moment?" Nero blinked. "Oh of course." He handed them over. "Good, now to use this energy." He focused on the pieces, and the people around him. Then suddenly, in a bright flash, they all disappeared from sight. In the same instant, they re-appeared inside one of the towers floors. "Whoa! The hell just happened." Colin gasped. "Quiet, you idiot." Cleo hissed. "We..we teleported?" Venice said with amazement "What, like in Star Trek?" Zoro had a hard time believing it. "I simply unlocked one of the puzzle's latent powers. Its one of my special abilities." He handed them back to Jacobus. "Wait, why do you have these abilities then, do you have..an item too?" Carter asked him. "No, I do not. Its a story which we do not have time for, lets move on." He faced away from them as he said this, hiding the throbbing vein in his forehead.

They then carefully began their journey inside the tower, walking through the pale monotonic hallways. There were few plants here and there, but the rest appeared as cold and sterile. Since elevators would probably draw attention, they looked for stairs instead. "How many floors does this thing have?" They asked. "40 to 50, I think." And since the top was likely the place where the big chief resided, they were in for a long trip. They found a large room with a big screen, almost like a lecture hall. And at the end was a large stairwell. "Must be a presentation room, either that or the evil industrialists enjoy friday cinema." Colin joked. They then attempted to go on, but a loud noise stopped them. "Aaah!" It was Christine, shouting as she reached for her head. "Rose, whats wrong!" Venice cried. "Its nothing, I just had a head..ache." She tried to regain her composure, but the pain was to great. "Gah!" The others tried to help her. "No, stand back." But Anima stopped them. "Aaaahghhahaahahahahah!" And then the screams turned to laughter.

"Aaaah, the act has ended..at last." She lowered her head and greeted them with a twisted expression. "Ms. Rose?" Venice said, but she was wrong, this was not her. "No..NO!" Nero yelled. "Yes, YES!" Ananka and Cleo both sensed it, that same demonic aura. "Jacob?!" Christine snickered. "Correcto! It is none other then I, the better Nero. I am disappointed that you took so long to see." 'He' grasped her face with one hand. "Of course, the only one who could truly sense me, was that accursed Persona, but his soul was stolen by the Orichalcos Seal. He could not tell that I, infected this girl." Infected with his own mind. "So thats how you survived. Jackson banished the spirit from Nero's body, but a part of it lingered inside her." Ananka grumbled. "What, he can do that?" She nodded. "You can thank Glyph for that." Hearing that name made Caine flinch. "He let me borrow the power of his item, for a while. Thanks to that, I could leave behind a part of my personality inside the victims of my shadow games, victims like this whench."

She/he then activated his dueldisk. "But the body I want most, is yours, Nero. I want to return there." Nero was to horrified to react, instead Ned replied. "You will have to go through me. I know what you are.." He rasped. "Dont think so, but I will gladly take an appetizer." However Venice also surprisingly mustered the courage to stand up. "You, you should let her go, she did nothing to you!" She even raised her voice. "How cute, but I dont see innocense as a reason to hold back." Then Cleo stepped up as well. "You two stay back, he is mine. I am tired of guys like him." She turned on her dueldisk. "We can not all fight him, we need to move on, before we are detected!" Ananka shouted. "Thats fine, you five go ahead, we will hold him back. Dont ask again, just go!" Nicolai said. "You don't hear me complaining." Colin responded. The three gamers also activated their dueldisks. "Heh, lets save you the trouble of deciding who gets a go at me first" Dark Christine sneered. "I can handle you, all three at once, I wont even have to raise my LP!"

"Are you sure you can handle this? Its my fault that she got taken over, I should.." Nero tried to stand up as well. "Thats exactly why you should not duel him, he has been inside you, he knows all your tricks. Besides, we need to keep him away from you." Ananka said to him. "The lady is right you know, you wont beat me Nero, as I am far superior to you. Besides the game has already begun, these three fools cant escape the shadows now." Just like before, they were caught in a shadowgame, and the losers would face a penalty game. "Its to late for us." Venice sighed. "Dont let that feeling you call 'guilt' turn you into an emotional idiot." Cleo rasped, she had seen enough of his selfpity to last a lifetime. "We have to move on, Nero, we cant waste time here. Christine would not want you to suffer again." Carter grabbed him by the shoulder. "Gah, I know." He turned around at last, following Colin, Anima, Ananka and Carter. "Good luck!" He said to them, one last time, before they were gone from sight. "Heh, at last."

Dark Christine's LP: 8000

Cleo's LP: 8000               Neds LP: 8000                   Venice's LP: 8000

(To be continued in Testament 045: Beginning of Darkness)


	45. Testament 045: Beginning of Darkness

Testament 45: Beginning of Darkness

"I thought they would never leave, those sentimental mortals." Dark Christine grinned, she drew six cards, indicating that she/he would go first. Which was only logical, since he/she faced three times the opposition. "You sure are confident, to not raise your LP by 16000 or 24000." Ned smirked. "Does that, in turn give you confidence, little Zoro? You did not even make it passed the first round, I will crush you with ease." The villain cackled. "And you, Venice, do you honestly believe that you could beat her now, when you could not even finish that task when she was holding back?" She started to tremble. "Hell, I could use Katarykens power, since I rightfully dragged it into the shadows. But I wont, I have my own style.." Now Cleo wondered just how long Rose had been under his control. _"Not using her warrior-deck? When did he have the time to change the contents?" _Perhaps since the very beginning? "Ah Cleo, lets not forget you." She said as she noticed that Caine was looking at him/her. "You too feel certain about victory, eh?

Because unlike Ananka, I dont have a safety measure against your haxed up ring. But if you rely on that, you will only find damnation. I know what it is.." She however, changed the subject. "Enough monologue-ing, lets duel." The villain nodded and activated the spell Graceful Charity, drawing thrice and discarding twice. "Nero used that card as well. Are you still using the Evil Hero deck?" Nicolai asked the spirit. "Not that one either, Nero still has those cards in his pockets. The cards I will use against you, were given to me by Glyph." Cleo twitched again. "He gave me a brand new deck, which I intended to use once the finals were over, but now I had to give them to Rose instead." He placed a monster card facedown. "You will love to see what nightmarish strategies we planned. He is a collector you know, he gathered rare cards just like he gathers rare items." The turn order of the good guys was then taken alphabetically, first came Cleo then Ned, and finally Venice. "It figures that types like you would be drawn to each other."

So her turn came after Christine's. She drew a card and summoned Dragon Zombie to the field in attack mode (1600/0) "I attack!" She declared, but nothing happened. "Cleo, that wont work, in a tagteam, nobody can attack in the first turn." Ned explained. "What? Thats a stupid rule." She grumbled and ended her turn instead. "Ms Caine, who is this man he keeps talking about?" Gray asked her. "Oh, Glyph? Some bastard, with an item like me and Ananka." She left out the part that he wanted her ring, since she did not want to draw attention to it. Ned drew a card. "My turn." And placed it facedown. "You know, heh. Earlier you said that you knew what I was, can you elaborate on that, heheh." He/She smiled. "I know that you were the cause of Nero's involvement with the tournament. I too knew that he never beat his first trial, but you allowed him to pass anyway, by nearly killing the judge." He summoned Drillroid (1600/1000) in attack mode, and ended his turn. "Ah, but is that any worse then Cleo using her ring to score a perfectly on the second trial?"

Ned gave her a quick glance. "Dont stare at me. I didnt even know my ring had that much power." She ignored him. "Hmph. All I did, was help my poor weak host along. Without me, he could never have reached the finals. Now tell me, does that make me a bad guy?" Ned ended his turn. "No." Venice spoke up. "But everything else you did, that does make you a bad man." She drew, and activated the spell card Summon Cloud. Which allowed her to summon two Cloudians in one turn, if there werent any on the field. "Taking over ms. Rose, hurting her and mr. Diamond. You are not helping anyone, you are doing this for yourself!" She yelled and special summoned the cyclone cloud, Cloudian Turbulence (800/0). "I tribute it for Cloudian Nimbusman(1000/1000). This card gains gains 500 attackpoints for every fog counter on it." And when it was tribute summoned, it gained a counter for every monster used for its tribute summon. So it gained 1 counter (1500/1000). "Thats a big speech for a girl who uses Clouds." She chuckled. "You can not scare me."

She responded played another continous spell. "Cloudian Squall, during my standby phase, all monsters on the field will get 1 fog counter." She ended her turn by placing a trap card facedown. "So in this body, I am less impressive eh? That does not change the outcome of this game. This wont change fate at all." Jacob/Christine drew a card again. "The moment I have claimed the winning blow, you will all die." Then she placed a trap card facedown, and summoned another monster in defense mode. They found that strange, since now was the perfect chance for him to make the first strike. Yet all he did so far was summon shield monsters.

"My turn." Cleo drew again, and she had at least one monster card which would not trigger a trap. "I summon the Invasion of Flames(1300/1200), you can not chain traps to its normal summon." She said, while Rose maintained that suspicious smug expression on her face. "Then attack me, if you dare." Caine did not hesitate. "Double attack!" The flame demon swiped through his first set monster card, a Mad Reloader (0/0). " Heh when this monster dies, I can 'reload' my hand." He sent 2 cards from his hand to the grave, and draw two new cards. "Second strike!" She attacked his other facedown, however the zombie dragons victim (1000/100) released several spores into the air. "You slew a Giant Germ, when it dies the virus inside harms you." Cleo lost 500 lifepoints. "And, it multiplies, summoning two other germs (1000/100) in attack mode." Now he had just as many monsters on the field as he did before. "Tsch, I should have expected a parasite like you to use disease and swarm cards." Nicolai entered his turn.

Cleo's LP: 7500

"He still has not used his trap card, Ned, be careful." Venice warned him. "I know, I got just the monster to take it down." He summoned the steatlh bomber jet, StealthRoid (1200/0) "This monster destroys a spell or trap if it attacks when another Roid is on the field." Drillroid started spinning its nose. "Now, a second double attack!" The two machines charged. "Heh, if you think of me as a parasite, then this should not come as a surprise." She/he however used the trap card. "Crush Card Virus?" They gasped, as he sacrificed one of the germs. 'I tribute a dark monster with 1000 attack-points or less, to infect your decks. For three turns long, you can not use anything that has more then 1500 attackpoints!" She laughed maniacally, as the Card Virus was released. DrillRoid, Dragon Zombie and Nimbusman all inhaled the dust and collapsed. Even their hands were affected, as Cleo had to discard Demonic Motor Omega, Ned threw away Steamroid, and Venice let go of Typhoons Eye. "Curse you, you truly are a disease. But your viral deck, wont beat all three of us!" Stealthroid could still attack, and it killed the last Germ, causing 500 effect damage to Ned. "Heh, I am no mere disease. I am the Darkness, your pitiful hope will never end my curse!"

Dark Christine's LP: 7800 Neds LP: 7500

Now it was Gray's turn, Cloudian Squall added fog-counters to Stealthroid and the Flame Invader. "Trap card, Updraft!" She flipped her trap. "It removes two fogcounters, to inflict 600 damage" Dark Christine was hit by a small tornado and shrugged. "What was that, that did not itch even!" She brushed aside the mist. "Not done yet, you.." She activated the spell Salvage, taking back two water monsters with less then 1500 attack from the grave, like her Cloudians. "I reclaim Nimbusman and Turbulence." She summoned the latter(800/0) again, however she did not use her continuous spell Summon Cloud, and kept Nimbusman in her hand. "Direct attack!" The turbulent cloudian fired a twister which pushed against the evil girl, knocking her life down some more. "Heh, you sure seem eager to wound your former friend, dont forget that its still her body." She shrugged it aside. "But its you who feels the pain, not her." She ended her turn. "Pain is temporary, my dear Venice. Even wounds will vanish over time, I transcend that."

Dark Christine's LP: 6200

He summoned to the field, a female priestess of shadow. "Priestess Ohm(1700/1600), allow me to show you her effect." He then removed a monster in his grave. "But first. I discarded Destiny Hero Malicious earlier with Mad Reloader. I can summon a second, by removing the first from play." The diabolic hero showed up on the field (800/800). "Now, Ohm can sacrifice the life of a dark one, to inflict suffering upon others." The priestess offered the Destiny Hero, to fire spirit energy at Venice. She shrieked as she lost 800 LP. "Next...Glyphs dear Miracle worker." He removed the second D-hero too, to special summon a third(800/800), which was fired at Cleo. "Bastard." She rasped, as she was hit. "Finally, dont think I will neglect to teach you in the ways of darkness, Nicolai Zoro." Ohm could still make a physical attack, and she used her whips to slash Stealthroid to pieces. "Then I set a spell card facedown. Though I should not bother, the virus has made you and your strongest monsters impotent anyway, eheheh."

Cleo's LP: 6700 Neds LP: 7000 Venice's LP: 7200

"Impotent?" Somehow that word irked the goth. "I may not know everything about this game, but I do know that a virus like this isnt inescapable." She drew a monster, End of Anubis, which died because of the Virus. However, now that monsters were in her grave, she could revive them with. "The Shallow Grave!" Both her, and her opponent were allowed to set one monster from the cemetery on the field. "Why thank you." He placed Mad Reloader (0/0) facedown again, while she picked Omega (2800/2000). And before anyone could question her actions, she tributed the machine and Invasion of Flames. "I tribute summon, Maju Garzett, its attack is equal to the monsters that were offered, but only when it hits the field. Maju survived the virus because it has zero attackpoints while in my hand." The Garzett demon aborbed metal and flame (4100/3200). "And my target is not your facedown, naturally. Instead." The wild demon ripped through the Priestess, severing her upper body from her waist. "Ah, how vicious. I think you are my favorite, Cleo."

Dark Christine's LP: 3800

"Ahem, its my turn!" Ned also wanted to prove himself. "I summon Expressroid (400/1600). When I call it to the field, I can add two roid to my hand." He selected Drillroid and Stealthroid, the virus could not target cards that were 'added' to the hand. "There are more ways then one to summon highpower cards, like fusion!" He then flipped his trap, Cyber Summon Blaster, which would inflict 500 damage every time a machine was special summoned. "Vehicroid Connection Zone!" He combined Stealth, Express and Drill with Truckroid, to form Super Vehicroid Stealth Union (3600/3000). "This card inflicts piercing damage, and it can't be killed by effects." At the same time, the Cyber Blaster inflicted 500 damage to the possesed girl. "Attack!" Since Mad Reloader had zero defense, the blow would have been lethal. "Gggh, how precious, you think you can kill me." Except Stealth Unions power was always halved (1800/3000) when it charged, so he survived. Pus he could reload his hand, discarding and drawing again.

Dark Christine's LP: 1700

"But now he is wide open, get him Venice!" He yelled, and she nodded. First Cloudian Squall added more fog counters to the Cloudian, Maju and Vehicroid. "Another way to avoid the virus. Spell card, Monster Reincarnation" Venice discarded Nimbusman to take back the infected Typhoons Eye. "Turbulence's effect: I can sacrifice a fog counter on him, to special summon a Smoke Ball Cloudian." The twister spit out a newborn cloud (200/600). "I tribute both for Cloudian, Eye of Typhoon." The one-eyed typhonic monster towered over the duelists (3000/1000). Now, his strength will set her free!" She focused all her energy on the villain, and declared. "Direct attack!" And a typhoons fist came for her head. "Kheh, instant spell card." Yet she donned her smug smirk once more, and flipped the spell Dark Wall of Wind. "This will negate any direct attack during this turn." Darkness rose to shield its master, and the Cloudians fist was dispersed by the fierce winds. "No, I couldn't." She recalled her Cloudian, and ended her turn.

_Dark Wall of Wind, Quickplay Spell  
__During the turn that this card is activated, all monsters on your opponent's side of the field cannot attack your lifepoints directly._

'You could not defeat me, that was obvious from the start." The next card she drew was good enough to revive her twisted expression. "I win.." He was about to play it. "You win, yeah right." Cleo hissed. "Just wait and see." He played the spell card, Beginning of the End. "When 7 dark monsters are in my grave, I can remove 5, to draw 3 cards." Between the reloading, charities and germs, he had plenty to go around with. He removed three Germs, Mad Reloader and a Sangan, to draw. "I will show you the true power of the collected darkness." Next he summoned a dark warrior covered in bloodred cloaks "Knight of Armageddon(1400/1200). When this is summoned, I can discard one dark monster from my deck, guess which one..." And it was the choice, that shocked all of his targets. "The head...of .." It was Exodia, the forbidden one. "Exodia, but thats the strongest card in existence, the definite kill. Nothing can survive that." Venice trembled. "It is..not possible. The five pieces were said to have been lost forever, nobody has used Exodia for ages." Ned protested. "And yet, here they are. Four pieces are in my hand already." He showed his hand. "And the fifth is about to come...I win."

(To be continued in Testament 046: Tum'aga's finest: The Kartel)

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine  
**Invasion of Flames  
Maju Garzett

**New Cards used by Nicolai Zoro  
**Cyber Summon Blaster

**New Cards used by Venice Gray  
**Cloudian Turbulence  
Cloudian Nimbusman  
Cloudian Smoke Ball

-  
Cloudian Squall

-  
Updraft

**New Cards used by Jacob/Dark Christine  
**Mad Reloader  
Giant Germ  
Sangan  
Priestess Ohm  
Destiny Hero Malicious  
Knight of Armageddon  
Left Leg of the Forbidden One  
Left Arm of the Forbidden One  
Right Leg of the Forbidden One  
Right Arm of the Forbidden One

-  
_Dark Wall of Wind_  
Beginning of the End

-  
Crush Card Virus


	46. Testament 046: The Kartel

Testament 046: Tum'aga's finest: The Kartel

Ananka, Anima, Colin, Will and Nero continued to ascend the tower, running from floor to floor. However after 20 of those floors, another sound besides theirs entered the stairwell. "What?" They whispered, as the clacking of metal against concrete echoed faster and faster. "Soldiers?!" That sound was unmistakable "Does this mean we have been found out?" They had no time to deal with this, if they engaged this enemy, they would attract too much attention. "You three go ahead, I can handle these." Anima said. He started to crackle with energy. "Are you sure? We already left half of our group behind.." But the noise got louder. "There is no time to object, let him do what he wants." Colin grunted. "Okay.. good luck Anima." They left him to deal with the soldiers. "...." He waited with a grim face.

More soldiers were also heading for the lecture hall, however that duel was almost over anyway. "Biding your time with virals and shield monsters, tsk. The legs and arms, they are all there in his hand. But you dont have the fifth piece yet." Ned protested to his selfdeclared victory. "Keep thinking that, Zoro. I used Knights effect to discard the head for a reason." He played the spell, Dark Eruption. "With this card, eheheh, I can add a dark-monster with 1500 or less attackpoints, from my grave to my hand" They flinched, as he used the spell to take back the discarded Head, which only had 1000 attackpoints. "Certainly, I want this, above all." All five pieces had been gathered. "Glyph collected all these, they are technically his cards. You can blame the rare collector for your defeat, I declare an automatic victory!" Already, the whole body of Exodia appeared behind him. "Exodia, send them all to Oblivion at once!" Not even a union of three, could survive the forbidden one. He unleashed his infinite power upon the three gamers...

Cleo's LP: 0 Neds LP: 0 Venice's LP: 0

All holograms shattered, and the three gamers fell to the floor. "Ungh." The blow had left them completely drained, they could no longer move. "Its over, for all three of you. Time for a penalty game.." He would break their minds, except just then the room filled itself with white coated troops. "Freeze, intruders!" They raised their guns and aimed at the four duelists. These people would not hold back against kids. "Tsch, always with the interruptions." Dark Christine sighed. She could easily handle them all by herself, but she had a better idea. "Hee, okay." Suddenly the darkness that surrounded Rose withered into thin air. The aura of the shadowgame, unseen by the guards, also vanished. She gasped for air, blinked once, and fainted as well. "What?" One soldier yelled, as all four trespassers were now lying on the floor, to tired to move. "Damn it." They could not escape at all. "Well, that worked out nicely. Wait, werent there more of them?" Another grunt wondered. "Only four here, we need eight. Where are the other four?"

Meanwhile, the Kartel members had regathered at the conference room, but they weren't the only ones to enter the area. "I wonder what all that noise is outside." Simone remakerd sarcastically, right before four duelists bursted into the room. "We're here?" Nero gasped, as they had finally found the right room. "I think, we are." Will spotted the six members, who looked rather calm considering the situation. "Well, well we have some guests." Simon laughed. "You, you must be the leaders here." Colin said, and took a close look at them. "And now that I am finally here, suddenly I am beginning to wonder why the hell did I go along with this?" His anger had decreased after all those stairs, and it was replaced with his selfserving fear. "Hmm, yes, you are right on time, children. To see our trial run..." The members all laughed. "Trial run?" Carter repeated. "Oh how rude, first we must introduce ourselves." Simone bowed, and took a seat. "Yes, we already know who you are, duelists 0023, 0024 and 0127.

"You entertained us at the tournament." Simon also sat down. "I take it you two are the infamous Creeds." Colin rasped. "Indeed, Simone and Simon, the heirs of Mr. Creed. We inherited this business from him, and we took it to the next level." They turned to the other members. "You probably already know Marcus Simmons. Next to him is Ivar Thorne, he leads the communication and connection branch." Thorne smirked. "Cadron Schmidt here, is our most esteemed scientist." The one-eyed doctor grinned, showing his sharpened teeth. "Finally we have Justine Loveless, she is the head of Temple Soft." The woman waved as well. "Temple soft? That means, she was the inventor of the dueldisks, and they are in on this whole thing too?" Nero asked. "Well, it seems you have made your own answer already." Justine smiled. "And wait a second, I know you." Jacobus looked at Ivar again. "I saw you at the docks, and the stadium." So he was a spy as well? "I wondered if anyone would recognize me, I could have made a bet on it."

"Then, this union of companies, was set before the invitations were even handed out?" Colin asked. "Yes, our business combined with Outerdeck first actually. But it was a secret alliance, kept off the records by our insider Marcus. Only now have we fully absorbed ODE. Temple Soft allied with us after an unfortunate accident." Simone winked at Cadron, who was only amused by this hidden reference. "The technology I created served to improve the power of the duel cards, plus it meant more riches for me. How could I refuse." Loveless laughed. "Then, I hate to sound like Cleo, but.." Carter coughed. "Why did you do all this, why all this trouble and soul stealing, for a card game?" It strained credibility. "Because my dear boy, duel monsters is not just a card game. You should know that by now, what with all the duel spirits, fortune telling and magical items." Cadron chuckled. "The card game is a way for us to manifest the true evil of Orichalcos." The dreaded name dropped again. "That thing..how did you get such an awful power?"

Ananka was the one with that question. "You can thank dear old dad for that. What do you think it was, that he found during one of his mining trips." Simon asked them in turn. "I can answer that, I was there as well." Ivar spoke up. "This." He dropped a green crystal on the table. "That is the jewel that stole Jacksons.." It looked similar at least. "This is..Orichalcum. The legendary mineral, even rarer then gold." He explained. "Hence the name of our company: Tum'aga. It stems from Tumbaga: the surname of Orichalcum." It was this, that made the company rich. This mineral drained the life at the tournament, and drew all this evil together. "But why, why would you do such a thing. What purpose do all the stolen souls have?!" There were tons of questions they wanted to ask, like the subject of the Orichalcos Soldiers, or the seal card. "No more, kids. No more queries." Simon clapped his hands, and a plasma-screen dropped from the ceiling. "Look at this instead, a visual display of Orichalcos's power."

The window turned on, showing three images. "What is this?" One image showed the duel colloseum, the second showed a schematic overview of two area's, and the third showed the location of area # 2: in space. "Thats our S.I.M. satellite, it not only connects all our hidden camera's with this tower, it can also give an overhead view." Just then, pale sparks flew around the image. "We allied with Outerdeck, to make a duel card that allowed humans to summon the Seal. We did that. but earlier this month we broadened our horizon. An Army Base was willing to let us ship satellite parts onto their grounds, after which we launched it. Now behold, the true reach of Orichalcos." They gasped, as a green circle of light formed around the satellite. "Our satellites are filled with Orichalcum, you can call it...a Sealing Station." The symbols of the unholy spell card were reshaped in space, and from there a wide laser beam was fired downwards, straight at the city. "No!" Then the terror of this attack dawned upon them.

The city and all its inhabitants were caught in the beam. The first screen showed a bright flash, the overhead view showed the assymetrical sixpointed star, the schematics counted the number of souls that were being taken away. "The gems can contain a multitude of souls, in this case the shameful legacy of Simmons failings." Marcus flinched. His plan ended with his defeat, yet Ivar upstaged him with his Satellite Laser. "No, Dieter, everyone." Nero could not believe it. "Stop it, stop it now!" Nero suddenly lashed out at Simone, grabbing her by the collar. "You are too late, this happened 30 minutes ago. What were the results again, Thorne?" Creed asked. "100 % We got them all, nobody could call for help. But a recent report told me that the satellite overloaded itself, we can not fire for another ten hours. Still, good enough for a first run." Then Simone slapped Nero's hands away. "You never had the chance to save anyone, 0127, just like you can not save your companions."

Suddenly, the camera feed showed a recording of the soldiers down below, apprehending the four gamers. "Oh no!" They all looked in bad state. "So you see, you should surrender now, we have your friends in custody already." Simon said with a cruel grin. "Well, we have you as hostages you know. Since Ananka has Millenium powers, right Ananka?" Colin claimed with enthusiasm, before he quickly stepped behind her. "Millenium pieces, how interesting." Cadron eyed the seeress. "Its not that easy, damn it Colin." She whispered. "It does not matter anyway." Justine unsleeved her wrist. "What?" It showed a comlink, just like the white coats had. Just then, the conference room swarmed with soldiers from every corner. "Silent alarm, damn you're sneaky." Cadron cackled. "I know." The guards cocked their guns. "Drop to the floor, now!" They shouted. "Gah, I thought Anima would delay them. Where the hell is he?" Colin cursed mentally, as he held his arms behind his back, like the others. "Hmmhmm, I hope you liked our show, Children." Simone gestured at one of the troops. "Take them to the detainment area, and confiscate their dueldisks. Oh and...any golden pieces they might have. take those to the treasury."

The guards had escorted the intruders out of the conference room, and confiscated all their equipment. The branch members returned to their dubious duties, and Simon returned to his floor to celebrate. "Marcus, since the rats came here with the help of an Outerdeck vessel, I suggest that you head back there, and scan the area for any more survivors. You know, just to be sure." Simone said to the member, before he too left the room, it was imperative that he'd return there anyway, since he was running the merge of both companies. "Yes mam, I will do that." He bowed and left. "Heh, even in shame, he remains obedient until the end." Ivar sneered. "Thorne, you also have a task. Keep monitoring the channels to see what rumors or news comes in about this 'cleansing'. Since its our tournament now, people will point their fingers at Tumaga. Issue another statement about a new disease or something." He nodded. "Of course, for the time being, we need to remain hidden. Only when we have enough souls, do we raise project Zetto."

Below the four were sent to the detaining area as well, despite the fact that one was unconscious, and the other comatose. To add salt to the wound, Justine dropped by along the way. "Oh, whats this, more intruders." She sighed. "Why did any of you think it was a good idea to attack a heavily guarded tower with only eight men. You'd have been better off attacking Temple Soft." She then noticed the girl in the backrow, she was carried on a stretcher. "Oh, what happened to her?" It was Venice Gray. "She fell unconscious after we apprehended her, they were dueling for some reason, against the other one." The servant pointed at a half-awake Rose. "Interesting." She stroked Venice's hair, gaining a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Leave her alone!" Ned growled, as he was still fit enough to yell. "Keep still." The guards however were not impressed, and shut him up with the blunt edge of their guns. Only Cleo was wise enough to keep her voice, even though her patience ran thin. "This one, send her to my ship. I can use her." She smiled. "Whaaat?" Ned shouted again, but quickly silenced himself, when the guard threatened him with his gun. "The rest can go to their friends." She waved them goodbye.

Gray was not seen again.

Things looked bleak for the duelists, seven were captured and Anima had disappeared mysteriously. But there was one person who could disturb this bad ending. Stowed away in a deeper darker area of the zeppelin, was the fourth holder of the Millenium power, concealed behind a cloak of darkness. "_Tsk, so this is tower 0013. I think its time to break it open_" Glyph was here.

(To be continued in Testament 047: Lessons in Pathology)

**New Cards used by Jacob/Christine**  
Dark Eruption  
Exodia, the Forbidden One


	47. Testament 047: Lessons in Pathology

Testament 47: Lessons in Pathology

All six remaining duelists were trapped within one massive cell, bathed in a bloodred light. The latter were thrown in through a thick gate, which closed right after they entered it. "Oh hey, captured as well." Colin said with fake enthusiasm.. "Oh quiet you, you have been sulking all the time." Ananka hissed. "I should never have come along in the first place! Why did I abandon self-preservation for an drawn out desire for retribution!" He shouted as hard as he could, but not even sound could pass through these walls. "Ugh, you think that we are less miserable?" Cleo rasped, while she glared at Christine Rose. "Wait, what happened with you guys, did you beat Jacob or." Jacobus gasped. "And where is Venice?" The others had a similar question. "Where has that bastard Anima gone off to?" So they started exchanging stories.

"Its all my fault." Was what Rose said most of the time. "Hey, don't talk like that, I felt the same way. But we cant blame ourselves." Nero tried to calm her. "But Venice, she was taken away, why?" She asked. "All I know is that we were beaten soundly. Those cards of Exodia are something else." Ned cringed just thinking about them. "He may have given her a penalty game, and retreated as the guards came in. I do not know where 'he' is now. He could still be inside me, and now in Venice as well." As she said this, Colin was the only one to back away from her. "I can not sense him right now though, even so.. he is just as trapped as we are." Ananka said, as she tried to lighten the mood. "Wait, how can you tell that? They took your necklace, and my ring. We aren't special anymore!" Cleo fumed, showing her ring-lacking fingers. "Maybe thats the case for you, but.." She paused and abandoned the subject. "We still have some hope, Anima has not been caught, and Jackson might find out about us.."

"Anima, wonder who that is." A distant voice said, inside a dark-lit floor. "Probably the bloke that stepped all over Marcus, eheh." Cadron grinned. The two were watching the prisoners, and listening in on them as well. They had installed several hidden camera's and recorders throughout the titanium walls. "And Jackson survived the Orichalcos seal as well, thats another flaw." Simone scowled, looking at the green jewel shard which contained five of Doe's Personae. "From they way they talk, I can theorize that the spirit entity known as 'Jacob' is within that girl now. That certainly would be interesting to study, a soul that can summon the power of shadows, without the aid of a millenium item. He must be the guy that Glyph talked about. Pity that Justine took away the other victim. But maybe we could dig up Edgars corpse from the stadium, and see if that one has any residual darkness." Simone shook her head. "I fear Justine claimed that body as well." Cadron flinched. "Bah, she always takes the good specimen, guess I will use these.."

And just then, a silent alarm sounded. "Huh? Another intruder?" Simone turned on her comlink. "Maybe its that Anima fellow." Cadron smirked. "Guards, status report!" She yelled through the link. "Mam, we are under attack...from..cant stop him....to powerful." The connection abruptly terminated itself. "What is going on? Switch the camera's to the base floor!" Schmidt did so, and they saw the invader in person. "Him?" It was the vampire, Glyph was down there, shutting down one soldier after another with his rod. "Your friend, Cadron?" She cursed. "Indeed, I warned him that he should not attempt direct contact, yet here he is. The suicidal fool." Yet it seemed like he was doing quite well. "Though he seems to have learned. He takes down the soldiers in a rapid pace, not giving any of them a chance to transform into their Orichalcos Armored bodies. And he is headed for the towers energy reactor. If he takes that down, it would be most inconvenient." Simone gasped, but then she relaxed. "Luckily, we have one duelist that wont fall to his power."

Back at their cell, the titanium door slowly slid open, sending a blue light into the crimson cell. "Dont try any funny stuff, children." The guards immediately raised their guns, stopping any ideas of escape before they were solidified. "Tsch, now what?" Colin grumbled. "You are to come with us, all seven of you. Do not ask why, just follow." The soldier grunted, and called them out by Carter asked. "You will be taken to Sir Cadrons section. He ordered us to bring you there." They all gave the soldier questioning glares, but they had no other choice. "The less you know..the better."

Glyph down below, knocked down the latest trooper that stood in his way, clearing the area of all interference. "_Hmph, so thats how they function._" He scanned them with his rod. "_They are human, yet they have cybernetic implants, nanotechnology. With a flip of the switch they can transform into those bulking real-time cyborg fighters. Thats why they can use the seal too, they have a heavily subdued soul inside_." That meant that those crates inside the blimp, which were processed by Temple Soft and Outerdeck, were nano-constructions built to fuse with human flesh. "_But now they are all off to whatever nightmares they dream off." _He looked ahead, and forced multiple gates to open, with the rod. _"But if they are all technical, and I dont see a major power unit inside of them, I can assume their true power source is close by_." He stepped into the same lecture room that stopped the gamers an hour earlier, when another intrusion arrived. He instinctively used his rod to take it out.....

And nothing happened.

"What the hell are you?" He asked the item in front of him. It was the lecture screen, which turned on, and revealed the symbol of Tumaga. The line-symbol was one half of the Orichalcos star, and a demonic face on the other side. **"This is the Security and Information Mainframe, abbreviation S.I.M." **The screen introduced itself with a monotonic robotic voice. "**Activation date: thursday 11 PM, task: apprehending subject 0004**." Glyph retracted his staff. "I see, a computer. My magic does not work on artificial life." Just then all the doors were shut down, sealing him inside the lecture room. "Whats next, poisonous gas? I already survived a bomb." However he was caught off guard when the machine produced images of cards on the large screen. "Oh, a duel? _No doubt its a delaying tactic, but I cant resist a game when I see one. Its been a while since I played on my own._" He did not pull out a dueldisk, instead he spread his hands and images appeared in front of him, cards appeared from fog.

"Lets see which is stronger, Atlantian technology or Millenium magic." He did not need a real disk or a deck by his side, his powers allowed him to summon those cards whenever he wanted. "So, can I go first then, mr. computer?" Glyph asked with a wide grin. Though he knew it was pointless to act against a computer. "**That is allowed**" The screen then drew five cards on the window, and five holograms inside the room. "Aha, this isn't a video room. It's a virtual projector room" Indeed. As soon as he draw his own set of ghostly cards, the walls seemed to move into a distance, and the ceiling opened to make way for the dark night. None of these images were real either, but they perfectly simulated an open environment "You sure know how to put up a good show, eheh."

SIMS LP: 8000 Glyphs LP: 8000

In his turn, he simply placed a monster card facedown, and a trap card behind it. "Now lets see your dueling moves, I hope you do better then the AI from the video games your companies make." The machine materialized a sixth card on the field, with its holographic grid. **"Main phase: Normal summon Shining Angel"** It summoned an angel to the grid(1400/800). "I suppose that now you will play that lovely seal card of yours." Glyph had a look that almost dared the computer to follow his expectations. However even if it could read expressions, he would be disappointed. **"Negative, S.I.M. Unit not compatible with Field Spell card: Seal of Orichalcos. Cause: Insufficient sacrifice for possible defeat" **It told Glyph, with its metallic tone. "Aha, its because you lack a soul. The seal apparently checks if both players can pay the cost for before the duel starts. Lucky me." Then the machine targeted his facedown.** "Battle Phase: Shining Angel attacks" **However his set card was Armor Exe, and the armored stone monster (2400/1400) had equal defense to the angels offense. Neither died.** "Monster noted, end phase. Armor Exe cost noted, pay spell counter every turn, or it is destroyed" **

"I know that. I activate my trap card!" He flipped Pitchblack Power Stone, which created three spellcounters. "I sacrifice one spellcounter, to keep Armor Exe on the field." Two counters remained, two standby phases**. "Noted. Continue"** Then he placed a monster in facedown defense position, which came from thin air again. All of his cards were made of pure spirit energy, a magical hologram. "My turn to strike." Exe switched to attack position, and slashed right through the angel. "**Shining Angel effect activated: Special summon Light-Monster, with less then 1500 atk, from deck**." It loaded data for a while. "**Selected: Satellite Cannon**" It called out a five-star machine monster, a satellite which placed itself high in the sky (0/0) "What the hell is that?" Glyph looked up, he did not play the game often enough to know this card. He was of course unaware that SIM was also the system which controlled the Orichalcos Satellite in the sky, so it was natural for this AI to wield a satellite cannon deck.

SIMs LP: 7000

"Then in your standby phase, I pay another counter for Armor Exe." He had ended his turn.** "Noted. Draw card. Main Phase: Activate spell card, Machine Duplication. Select machine with less then 500 attackpoints, Satellite Cannon, and special summon two cards with the same name." **Suddenly the cannon began to glow, and two more emerged between the clouds (0/0) "Damn it, three of them, what is their effect?" The computer was not through yet though. "**Spell card, Swords of Revealing Light, freeze enemy attacks for three turns**." Swords rained down upon Armor Exe, and his set monster card. The latter was flipped face-up as well, and its flip effect activated. It was the spellcaster: Magical Plant Mandragora(500/200), which added a spellcounter a card that could store them. " I place a spell counter on the Power Stone.". This he could sacrifice for Armor Exe in his standby phase. "**Noted, End Phase"** And it was then that the satellites revealed their power. "**Each end phase of controller, adds 1000 attackpoints" **The three satellites gained attackpoints (1000/0). _"I see a self-booster. This might be more interesting then I thought."_

The seven duelists were pushed a few floor higher, and forced into a dark and damp room. The level of moist almost suffocated them, and then there was he stench. "Eew, what is this place?" Colin coughed. "A simple 'what is this' would have been enough to get my attention, Colin Sairve." A voice cackled as the lights were turned on. In one instant, all of his nightmarish experiments were revealed. "Gah!" Tubes with strange acids and chemicals, mechanical torture tools, lightning coils, it had everything that you would expect from a mad scientists laboratory. Which was exactly what this place was, Cadrons gallery of madness. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen." He clapped his hands, the sound of slithery gloves on his thin fingers was quite eerie. "May I direct you to a seat. You will be here for quite some time. Do not resist, I won't hesitate to euthanize you, and then investigate your corpse instead." He pointed at the guards guns, and then the metallic cold chairs against the wall. "You..what do you want from us?"

Nero shouted, his cries echoed all over the place, and Schmidt closed his eyes to focus on that sounds. "Ah, good question. I am interested in you, my children." He glared at one in particular. "Especially, the current host of Jacob: Christine Rose. Oh yes, your mind will be my first subject." Her eyes widened with fear. "You want to meet, him?" Nero gasped. "Quite so, I believe him to be far more then a simple split personality. He is more like these five." He twirled the green shard around between his fingers. "That is!" Ananka recognized it as the jewel that had stolen Jacksons souls. "So, my dear flower. I assume you can not bring him out yourself." He grinned, which made her shiver. "Even if I could, I dont want too.. that person is..a nightmare." They way she worded it, excited the villain even more. "I am affraid you have no choice." The guards grunted. "Hey you can not shoot us, if you do, you wont have any spirit to study!" Colin claimed with an unconvincing tone. "Well, that excuse works only for her, eheh."

"But there will be no shooting in my lab, far to messy. Instead.." He showed them a strange green vial. "I will let the stress of venom do the work." They flinched. "Venom, what venom?" Ned asked, and looked around as if he expected the soldiers to pull out needles filled with diseases. "The one that I already injected you with, children."

(To be continued in Testament 48: Eyes on the Ball)

**New Cards used by Glyph  
**Armor Exe  
Magical Plant Mandragora

-  
Pitchblack Power Stone

**Cards used by S.I.M.  
**Shining Angel  
Satellite Cannon

-  
Machine Duplication  
Swords of Revealing Light


	48. Testament 048: Eyes on the Ball

Testament 048: Eyes on the Ball

The duelists just got the weirdest news possible, Cadron had injected them with poison? "Your faces ask me: when did he do that? Heh, I will tell you, my entire floor is filled with it." They suddenly smelled the sickening aroma. "Invisible but deadly, a poisonous fume I myself created. Its hybridisized with my own cells, so I am immune to it. This is one of my experiments, to breed obedience within my troops." The soldiers did not seem to react to the venom either. "That always does the trick, that and the bombs inside their bodies." He cackled, and pointed at Christine with one long finger. "You alone can stop this, the spirit within you has the power to break those shackles, and get this antidote. I know its a trope to carry it with me at all times, but the higher ups do not feel safe otherwise." In case his experiments ever got out of hand. "You can't ask me to do this!" She cried. "Oh fine then, die if you want too. It takes a healthy human about 15 to 20 minutes to feel its effects, and another minute to die. If in that time, 'Jacob' wont come out, I will just have to watch everyone die." He toyed with the vial some more. "You should be glad I didnt pick the electrochemic treatment instead." They could not believe this. "Sure you dont want to take a seat?"

"You played The Swords for a reason, but do not think these can contain me." He knew how to get rid of them, he summoned to the field, Breaker the Magical Warrior(1600/1000). He gave himself an attack strengthening spell-counter when normal summoned.(1900/1000) "I can give up the spellcounter on Breaker, to destroy your spell card!" The spellcaster knight swung his sword around, shattering the light swords. "**Noted, continue.**" Those words began to irritate the vampire. "Feh, its no fun to beat down an emotionless victim. Oh well." He entered his battle phase, and Breaker attacked first. "Take it down!" Yet the magician could not jump high enough to reach the cannon, and instead some of its damage was given to SIM. "Another effect?" He recalled his monsters. "**Affirmative: Satelite Cannon can not be destroyed by monsters of level 7 or lower monsters**." The villain spat. "No wonder they are so high up." He thought it over and switched Armor exe to defense mode again.

SIMs LP: 6400

Then he payed the last available spellcounter for Armor Exe, after which the Black Stone crumbled, since it had run out of energy. "**Noted. Draw. Main Phase: Activate spell card, Charge**." He visualized a normal spell which caused all cannons to brim with energy. "! They are attacking?" Their attackpower shot up, all three of them (3000/0). **"Charge: It gives all machines with 'Satellite Cannon or Satellite Laser' in their name, 2000 attackpoints."** The three space stations released their charged energy. **"Battle Phase; Attack with all three cards" **They atomized Mandragora, Breaker and Armor Exe with one deafening lightburst, they were gone in a flash. Fortunately, only Breaker was in attack mode, so he did not lose too much life points. **"Main Phase 2: Set card. End Phase. Third mandatory effect of monster card activates, attackpoints are lost after declaring attack **(0/0)**.** **Then during endphase, cards add attackpoints** (1000/0)**" **Glyph brushed off his coat, and frowned. "Tsch, a bit troublesome."

Glyphs LP: 6600

_Charge, Normal Spell  
__Increase the attackpoints of all face-up 'Satellite Cannon' or 'Satellite Laser' monster cards, by 2000._

"But, I know their weakness now!" He summoned Skilled Dark Magician to the field (1900/1700), and immediately declared an attack with it. "**Spellcaster card, level 4, attack can not reach**" The spell withered halfway during its path. "I know it wont damage your precious machines, but damage calculation still exists." SIM lost another 900 lifepoints. "I set a card facedown as well." He ended his turn "Noted" Yet the AI simply continued on with its turn, a machine like this could not be impressed. _"Feh, even if he can keep them alive, he cant kill my magician yet, unless he pulls out another Charge card." _Yet luck had seemingly abandoned him, for this time the machine drew a card that every machine deck user adored. "**Main Phase: Spell card, Limiter Removal**" And Glyph gasped. "That old trick?" The spell, Limiter Removal, doubled the attackpower of all three cannons (2000/0) "**Battle Phase: Left monster card attacks Spellcaster subtype, Right and Middle cards attack directly.**" Glyph braced himself for the triple impact, which killed Skilled Dark Magician and hit him twice for 2000 damage each. "I am not dead yet, though." He sneered. "And now Limiter Removal will kill your machines, since thats the cost for that spell."

Glyphs LP: 2500

He could not wait to see that. "**Negative, Main Phase 2: Activate spell card, Polymerization." **But the AI used the fusion magic card, to combine all three cannons. "What? They can do that as well?" Up in the virtual sky, the three satellites merged in a flash of light, and they became one station, mounted with a gigantic laser. "**Satellite Laser Balsam, Machine Fusion Card. Effect: This card inflicts piercing damage, increases its attack by 3000 during the endphase. Continue Main Phase, set monster card facedown. End Phase.**" At that time, the Laser raised its attack (3000/0). "Now thats a new trick, 3000 attackpoints per turn. You might as well say that it has 3000 attackpoints all the time." He drew a card. "_And it exchanged its immunity to battle destruction for a piercing laser."_

_Satellite Laser X-06S Balsam, 8/0/0 Light/Machine/Fusion  
__Sattelite Cannon + Sattelite Cannon + Sattelite Cannon  
__This card can not be special summoned, except by a fusion summon. During each of your end phases, this card gains 3000 ATK. If this card attacks, its ATK is returned to 0, after damage calculation. During battle between this attacking card and a defense position monster whose DEF is lower than the ATK of this card, inflict the difference as battle damage to your opponent's life points._

_"Not that there are any lowlevel monsters that can stand up to such firepower" _He then summoned the RapidFire Magician(1600/1200) "**Noted, continue." **It was in attack mode, since against Balsam, defense mode would cost him more life. "I may not be able to attack your laser, but I can do this!" He played the spell, Book of Taiyou, which switched the computers set card into offense. " Rapid Fire Magician inflicts 400 damage every time a spell is used." The mage shot a blast at the screen. "**Noted, card flipped is Satellite Base."** Another weaponless satellite showed up (0/0) "I do not know what it does, but time to get rid of it!" He attacked it with the magician. "**Satellite Base, Machine, Effect: Can not be destroyed by level 5 or lower.**" Glyph twitched, as the Base flew up into the air, in front of Balsam. Instead his magician slammed against the wall, injuring SIM instead. Since the Base had no attack or defense, he might as well have been attacking directly. "These machines are starting to bore me."

SIMs LP: 3500

_Satellite Base, 4/0/0 Light/Machine  
__This card cannot be destroyed in battle with a Level 5 or lower monster. As long as this card is face-up on the field in defense mode, your opponent can not declare an attack on other 'Satellite Cannon/Laser' cards on your side of the field. During each of your end phases, this card gains 1000 DEF. When your opponent attacks, this cards DEF is returned to 0 after damage calculation._

"**Secondary effect: Card defends against all attacks, Tertiary effect: Card gains 1000 DEF during endphase"** Thats why the Base floated in front of Balsam, it was its eternal shield. "**Draw, Main Phase, Battle Phase: Attack Spellcaster-Type monster" **The Satellite charged its laser, and released a focused flash that turned the spot where once Rapid Fire mage stood, into a smouldering crater. Glyph lost 1400 lifepoints. **"Main Phase 2: Set card in M/T Zone, switch Base to defense mode. End Phase." **Though his monster card had lost its power after the strike (0/0) it returned once more in his endphase (3000/0). The Base meanwhile, gained its defense (0/1000) Now it was the street artists turn again, and he drew a trap card. "Right, I wasted enough time. I know you dont care, but record it anyway"

Glyphs LP: 1100

This is my favorite card." He summoned to the field, the Illusory Gentleman (1500/1600). "But first, a simple trick, all it takes is a gift to the audience!" He played the spell, Soul Taker. "This card will give 1000 LP to the opponent, but first he must destroy the monster I select. I choose, Satellite Laser X-06S!" He summoned a yellow orb of energy and tried to shoot it into space, bypassing the Base. "**Noted, Chaining spell card."** Yet SIM flipped his own instant spell. **"Defusion, send fusion machine to graveyard, special summon fusion materials." **The Laser Cannon was split into its three halves (0/0), each in attack mode, and each evaded the Soul Taking Enchantment. "Missed eh?" He snapped his fingers. "I can at least still attack your Base and lower its defense." The Gentleman struck the defending satellite (0/0). "Maybe you will like the next trick more." He placed the drawn trap facedown. He hoped that his trap wouldn't be needed, but his hope was soon dashed into the ground.

"**Draw, Main Phase: Spell card, Spell Reproduction. Effect: Discard two spells from hand, add 1 spell to hand from graveyard.**" It discarded Power Bond and Union Attack, to take back Charge. "**Continue, Activate 'Charge'**" Once again, the charging spell powered up the trio of cannons (2000/0) "**Battle Phase.**" But before it could target the Gentleman, Glyph flipped his trap. "I play Magical Hats, taking two cards from my deck, and shuffling them into facedown defense position, along with my monster card." The trap took all three cards, and changed them into images of magicians hats. "Now, keep your eyes on the middle hat." He shuffled the three hats, and stopped. One hid the Gentleman, the other two hid trap cards. "Guess which one is which." He smirked. "**Statement rendered mute, declaring triple attack. 100 % chance that monster card is destroyed.**" As usual SIM ignored his games, and decimated all three hats at once. The Illusionist died, but no life was lost, since it had been shifted to defense mode.

"Hmm, I apologize." Glyph laughed as the smoke slowly cleared. "I should have said: keep your eyes on all the hats!" Two tokens came from the smoke, Wicked Tokens(1000/1000). "Shall I explain my trick? Its simple: I took two Statue of Wicked-trap cards from my deck and used them as extra hats. When you destroyed them, their effects activated. They summon tokens when destroyed." It was his turn again, the Cannons powered down (1000/0), the base powered up. (0/1000). "Not mention, sacrifice-able tokens." He offered both for his ultimate spellcaster, the Dark Magician (2500/2100). "Raise your hands for the number one mage, oh thats right you dont have any. But as a consolation, I will give you a stellar performance. The ulitmate Black Magic, Diffusion Wave Motion!" Then he played a spell and payed 1000 LP. " This allows the Black Wizard to cast his magic on all your monsters!" The Magician fired his Waves of destruction. The base went down first, which opened up an attack for the three Cannons, who were still in attack mode.

Glyphs LP: 100 SIMs LP: 0

Dark Magician was only a lv-7 monster, and it could not kill the cannons, but each hit still took down 1500 lifepoints of SIM. "The final act is over, and the winner...is me!" He shouted proudly. When the smoke cleared however, his assault was not yet over. The mage leaped from the dust and scrapmetal, and fired his magic straight at the screen itself. "Eheh, gotcha!" He smirked as he pointed his rod at S.I.M. "You know I was just planning on a trip to the reactor core, to shut this place down. But instead, I will use your precious mainframe to take it down from here!" He used his magic, and his monsters energy, to enter the towers system. "Hgh! What is he doing!" Simone gasped, she had been watching the duel through the camera system, and now as a viewer she reached the conclusion of Glyphs triumphant act. "No, no shut it down!" She told the AI, but it was already to late. This was even worse for her, then a mere reactor shutdown, since the intelligence network had power over all electrical tools in this location.

And the street mage was accessing them all.

Just then the lights began to flicker throughout the tower. Cadron was still waiting for his guests to react to the poison, when his lights began to falter. "The heck is going on now?" Carter wondered. Cadron payed it no mind. "3 more minutes." He snickered, as Rose still refused to release Jacob. "You know I'd rather face Nero's evil twin, then death by poison." Colin remarked. "Shut up will you?" Cleo slapped him. "I can not help it, I don't know how to do it!" She cried again, the dark spirit was not coming out, at all. "Well, maybe I will just give Rose the antidote then, and let everyone else die. I am sure that a few shocks will.." But before he could write down his results on his notepad, one of the soldiers started to spark. "Sir, I dont..feel so good." He looked at his master, and soon all the others started to get the same symptons. "Huh, what now?" The gamers were just as clueless. The scientists took one second to find out what was wrong. "Blast!" He cursed, as all bombs went of simultaneously, all human bombs.

The troops exploded one by one, and knocked the rest against the wall. In one instant, the entire laboratory turned to ruins, and the chain reaction did not just hit the lab. All floors suffered the same glitch, most troops that came equiped with a bomb explodes, the others were simply shocked into an unconscious state. Because of their cybernetic implants, they were susceptible to SIMs network. "Well that was fun." Glyph chuckled as he pulled back his Millenium Item. It appeared that before Simone had disconnected the terminal, he set off all bombs in the area. "Damn it, that one man did more damage to our company then everyone else did in a lifetime." She slammed the desk with her fist. "That bastard Cadron, I will skin him for having suggested the idea of 'human bombs'." She left the control room, to survey the damage. It was only because of the short range of the explosives, that little of the building itself was damaged. But now Tumaga Inc was virtually unprotected from the inside, and people like Glyph had free reighn to do whatever they wanted. "Well time to find the treasures that this place has." He ran off, passing by smouldering craters, fire hazards and twitching white coats.

"Oof, in hindsight, maybe not such a good idea." Schmidt sighed.

(To be continued in Testament 049: Hostile Take-Over)

**New Cards used by SIM  
**_Satellite Laser X-06S Balsam (+)_  
_Satellite Base (+)_

_-_  
_Charge (+)_  
Limiter Removal  
Polymerization  
Defusion  
Spell Reproduction

**New Cards used by Glyph  
**Breaker, the Magical Warrior  
Rapid-Fire Magician

-  
Soul Taker  
Diffusion Wave Motion

-  
Magical Hats  
Statue of the Wicked

_(+) Based on cards used by Prince Ojin from season 2 YGO GX_


	49. Testament 049: Hostile takeover

Testament 049: Hostile Takeover

Schmidts precious quarters had been wasted by his own creations, the soldier bombs destroyed themselves before he could shut them down. Now only his allies were killed, and his experiments lived. "Cadron!" Nero emerged from the smoke and cornered him. He had in his hands a soldiers gun. "Ugh, well hello Jacobus. I see your shackles shorted out. Do you know how to use that?" He grinned. "Gggh. You planted bombs inside your own men? And now you dont even care that they all died!" He aimed the gun right at the scientist. "They stopped being humans once they entered my project, kid. Nobody should feel sorry for them.." He edged towards his left, but Nero moved closer. "You.... give us the antidote, and that Orichalcos shard, you have nowhere to go." The other six also started to unlock their shackles, using the keys dropped by the leading soldier. "That gun makes you feel powerful, doesn' it? Almost as powerful as when you were the host for Jacob. Eheh, are you sure you dont want me to help you?"

Cadron backed into the wall. "Do not move again, give it now." Jacobus was dead serious. The doctor sighed, at this rate theu would get trigger happy nefore the venom took them down.. "I will give you a conundrum then, Nero the Hero. Who do you save, Jackson or yourself?" He made an unexpected move, he threw the antiserum vial to the left. "The antidote!" Carter gasped. Nobody but Nero was close enough to catch it, and save it from a fate of getting shattered by the floor. "No!" Instinctively, he dropped the gun, jumped for the bottle, and caught it in his left hand. "Wise choice, but now you have nothing to stop me with." He cackled and clicked a hidden button in the wall, which opened a door behind him. "You are still too human." And he dropped through it, the walls sealed themselves afterwards. "Gah, he got away!" Cleo rasped. "And he took Jacksons souls too." Ananka said, but she started to cough. So did some of the others. "Ugh, talk later, cure for poison first!" Ned grunted, they had little time left.

Luckily, Cadron had been a fair villain at the very least, as he did not lie about the contents of his vial. They each took a zip, and waited for a minute to see if they were in the clear. "I think we wont die...so please stop drinking from it Colin.. its empty already." Carter told Sairve, who reluctantly put the bottle aside. "We can conclude that we will live, and we did not need Jacob to be rescued." Nero said, looking at Christine. She smiled back weakly. "Now what do we do?" Ned wondered. "Thats simple, is it not?" Cleo picked up one of the guns again. "We give them another visit, the Kartel members." They apparently accepted that idea. Cleo then picked up the gun. "You do know how to handle that right?" Carter asked the goth. "I have seen enough movies to get the gist of it." She replied.

The seven tried to find the quickest way out of this sickening level. They were deeper down in the tower then they expected to be. "There the airlock." But once they passed the locked gates, and left that awful smell behind them, they knew they were getting somewhere. After a quick trip through several compartments, they finally reached the base floor. "I remember where the conference room was, I am sure we will find some members there." They looked around and saw the red lights everywhere, a bloodred glow characterized the setting filled with craters and ashes. And on every floor there was a black smouldering crater, pieces of metal and white cloth were all around it. "They all exploded." Rose inspected the blast sites. "Even if they were working for Tumaga, they did not deserve this." She shivered. "I know, but we did not do this. I am more worried about a guy that can inflict so much death, in one heartbeat." They even started to wonder if it had been Anima's doing, but they could not find him anywhere.

"Sister, you looked perplexed, could this be because of the bombs that just went off?" Simon asked as Simone entered the room in a hurry. "Tsch, this is no joking matter. We are defenseless against Glyph and Anima now. And since we sent all the other members away again, we're all thats left to defend the city." She walked to the table and smashed open a glass case underneath which held a handgun in it. "It must be serious then." He replied, still with a false casual tone. "Wait, I hear sounds." She started to listen. "They are here!" Hissing, she aimed her gun right at the door. It opened, and the seven duelists came bursting in through the door. Since the Creeds expected someone else, they were momentarily stunned with surprise. "What the, you?" She fired anyway. "Holy crap, duck!" Colin screamed and hid behind the walls. The first few shots missed. "I am not putting up with this now!" Cleo yelled and fired her own gun, and with a flinch of good luck, she nailed her target, and shot the weapon out of her hands. "Gaaah!" Simone clenched her wound, a burn mark. "Lasers? They have those too now?" Cleo looked at her own weapon which had now been confirmed to shoot lasers and not bullets. "How disappointing."

"Okay that did not work, now what?" The brother slowly started to panic, and asked his elder sister for new ideas. "Thats obvious, isn't it?" She clicked a button on the wall, and a door opened. "Again?"They all saw her, but were too far off. "Whats with these people and their secret hallways?" Carter moaned. It looked like they were about to get away. "Stop." Cleo fired again, yet Simone rushed into the gateway. "Wait!" Simon was after him, but he tripped on her dropped gun. "Too slow brother." She spat and closed the door again. "No!" He cursed. "Don't move." They were not about to let two Creeds escape. He was surrounded. "You rotten children, you dare ruin our plans to this degree?" He grinded his teeth, knowing this round was lost. "Eheheh, well enjoy your victory while it lasts. I know where my sister is headed, and once she arrives, you will all die anyway." Simon gloated. "Okay.... then tell us where she is going?" Christine asked. "I wont tell anything to you kids, you can point that gun at me for as long as you like."

"You wont shoot, I know that.." Simon grinned, he was now their prisoner, yet not a very manageable one. "Children, us? You do not look that old yourself." Cleo rasped. "Of course, I am a child genius, like my sister. We inherited this firm when we were just 16." That seemed to be the magical age for such transactions. The others rushed over to the secret door, but alas.. "Damn this wall wont budge at all, I am sure she clicked a button or something similar." Ned inspected every corner of the walls, nothing that could help him. "Simone, Cadron, Venice, who do we go after first?" Thats what they wanted to know. "Don't forget the treasury, where they placed the items." Ananka said. They were still lacking their necklace, ring and puzzle pieces. "You would not happen to know more about those things, would you?" Simon still did not respond. "Hey, I know what will help, the camera room!" Carter exclaimed joyfully "Its just a few doors to the east, we can see all the floors at once!"

They found that room rather quickly, and easily found the locations that they were interested in. Since all guards had been blown to pieces, they could visit those places without hindrance. Ananka and Cleo took up the task to enter the treasury. It was a large titanium-plated cell, filled with riches from the four corners of the earth. "I guess all this jewely was gathered, because its actually filled with Orichalcum." Cleo picked up a green-glittering crown. "It looks old, where did they find this?" But there was more inside of course, gold, silver and diamonds. "Here they are." Ananka found all three of their items inside a plastic case, labeled '1'. There was another plastic case, which contained a golden key shaped like an ankh. "Wonder what that one does?" Cleo looked at it with a misschievous smile. "Caine, we dont have time for that." Isla had already left the room, holding Nero's pieces as well. "Just take your ring, so we can get back to the others." The goth sulked, and left behind all that shined. "Tsch, such a waste."

"Gah, security shows that all Kartel members besides the Creeds left already." Ned cursed, though he was at least happy to see that camera's still ran under emergency power. "Then, Venice is.." Christine looked saddened, they could not save her from whatever fate Loveless had in mind for the girl. Meanwhile Anima was nowhere to be seen, and they did not even know that Glyph had arrived. "Well there is good news too. Look here." They switched to another screen, which showed Simone, running through the hallway. "We found her!" Williams yelled. "Hurray." Colin added sarcastically. "She is, whoa.. She is all the way below ground zero already, in the sub-levels. Why would she go there?" Ned turned to another camera, and it showed the Creed woman once more. This time she stopped running to board a strange capsule, one of three in a row. "Where is that?" Then in a fraction of a second, she zoomed out of sight. "What the?" The capsule zipped into a long tube, and she was gone. "Under water!?"

They rushed back to the conference room, where Nero was guarding Simon. Cleo and Ananka had also returned. "Okay Simon, where did she go? What is beneath here that is so important?" Ned asked the industrialist, while Carter informed the others of what they had seen. "I dont know what you are talking about." He said, and this time he meant it. "Are you telling me that you dont know whats here in the ocean? Or can we assume that she went to one of your mining facilities for reinforcements?" And just then, he flinched. "Ocean? She went there!?" His expression went from smug to frightened. "She cant be, she wouldn't, not to me.." The drastic shift was not assuring them. "What, what can she do?" Ned shook him until he received feedback. "Atlantis!" He shouted. "She is going to the Atlantis-site. The place where father found his first sample of Orichalcum." He pointed out the window and on to the seas. "She wants to go there, because a second Satellite control system is set up there!"

"I know her... she is going to use it to steal all our souls, and then sort them out at her own leisure.." They gasped. "Thats a big leap, are you sure she would do that. You are related right?" Ananka wondered. "You do not know my sister like I do. There is no love between us..." He retorted, half-frantic, half-annoyed. "The satellite is still hovering above main land. At this rate it will take 2 hours to position itself over this area. If you do not believe me, check the plasma screen." He pointed to the remote for the screen, they used it to open it. They then got a clear image of the stations heading. "Argh, he is right! Now what?"

Minutes later, they had assembled down below, in front of the tube station. This time Carter stayed above to guard Simon. "This is like a monorail, only for below sea-levels." Ned tapped the train capsules, there were two left. "Roomy, and if she is going all the way down there, I assume they can resist the pressure at that depth. We can use this to follow Simone and stop her before she uses the satellites on us." Immediately Colin volunteered. "I would rather be down there when the bad stuff starts hitting everyone here." The three Millenium users also chose to take the ride, since they had the best chance at fighting magic with magic. "Christine, I think.." Ananka tried to tell her to stay behind because of her inner demon. But she already knew. "You do not have to say it, ms. Isla. I do not want him to surface, and delay you, or hurt anyone else." She walked away again. "I will stay with her as well, I wish the rest of you good luck." They went upstairs again, as the others headed inside the vessel, and closed the lid.

The controls were simple enough, the cockpit only had a few buttons for velocity and communication. "Lets go then." Cleo pushed the buttons, and they were off. Riding along the railroad inside the waterproof tunnel. "I wonder how long this will take." Colin said, as he looked through the glass. They were racing beyond the oceanic scenery at a rapid pace, yet the endgoal was not even in sight yet. "Sairve, can't you focus for once, we have to stop Simone, remember?" De La Isla said with a coarse tone. "I know that! But how hard can it be, she is desperate right now. In fact I predict that we will catch her, and end this nonsense once and for all." The seeress just sighed. "I wish I had your optimism. Unlike you, when I get a bad feeling, I know a bad thing will happen." And right on cue, the vessel screeched to a sudden stop. "Whoa!" And the trio all stumbled over each other. "Are we there yet?" Colin asked, as he pushed everyone off of him. "Dont think so." Nero only saw fish and water.

"Why did we stop then, did Simone do this, or did your pessimism jinx us?" He looked at Ananka. "If anyone is a jinx here..it is...wait...where is Caine?" They got up, and walked to the front compartment. There they saw Cleo, hanging over the controls, evidently she had pressed the wrong button. "Cleo, now is not the time to be testing!" Colin shouted, however Nero and Ananka were as quiet as the grave. "Huh?" Then the goth turned around, and donned a malicious grin. "No!" Nero trembled, he instantly recognized that expression. "Heh, fooled you again." 'Dark Cleo' sneered. "Jacob! You are inside..when did you.." They were shocked, the villain had returned a third time. "Oh, I abandoned Rose ages ago, eheh. Do not make me say the same thing twice, Nero, I want that body back."

(To be continued in Testament 050: What Lies Beneath)


	50. Testament 050: What lies Beneath

Testament 50: What lies Beneath

Before them stood a possessed Cleo, Jacob had abandoned Christine for her body. "I can predict your next question When did I enter this body?' Let me save you some time. I did it when I beat Cleo along with her insignificant little friends, the guards didnt give me enough time to penalty game everyone, so I hid my essence inside Caine. To claim my price, so to speak." Her body alone was what interested her. "Though, not even she can satisfy me."He pointed his/her fingers towards Jacobus "Nero, I want my old body back. You do not deserve it." But then Ananka stepped in the way. "I will not let you touch him, nor will I stand by and watch you possess her body." Colin joined her, though he did not know why, since he was not on Jacobs 'to inhabit' list. "Once again, your soul is saved by your friends, Nero. Can't you fight for yourself?" She smirked. "Guys, he is..I should duel him, this is all my fault." He said, and was about to activate his disk. "No, Nero, do not listen to him. Thats just what he wants, to get closer to you." She activated hers instead. "I will handle this. I know I can." Colin and Nero took a few steps back. "Okay...Ann" To give them some room. "Well then, I guess in between another girl, such a sweet appetizer."

Dark Cleo's LP: 8000 Ananka's LP: 8000

Cleo drew five cards, however none of them were Exodia Pieces. "One by one they fall, until nobody is left to defend poor little Nero. You can go first, naturally." The seeress drew six cards. "You wont find me as easy a target as the others. They were unprepared for your powers, but I know that you run Exodia." Cleo raised an eyebrow. "Oho, the little rats told you that much? It wont matter, every time I win a shadowgame, I improve my deck. I even added some of this goths cards in here, since she too wields the dark attribute. This body wont fall to your Arcana twice." The Dark one gloated. "Its not her that I am fighting, is it?" Then she summoned Arcana Force VI, The Lovers (1600/1600). It revolved into an upright position, thanks to the power of her necklace. "Now my monster counts for two tributes. I also set two trap cards, and end my turn." Cleo drew again, still she did not get an Exodia piece. "Then, lets dispense with all illusions that this game is not one of life and death." The eye of Wadjet started glowing on her forehead.

"Let the shadowgame begin." She played a spell card, which shrouded the train compartment in a dark fog. "Spell card: Veil of Darkness. During each of my drawphases, if I draw a dark monster, I can discard it to draw again." The others realized that this was a good way for him to thin his deck, and obtain all five pieces at a rapid rate. "Next, I summon the machine monster, Vortex Trooper (0/600). I can send 2 cards in my hand back to draw 2 new cards." Its sole purpose was to speed up the Exodia gathering. The machine spun its fan, and circulating cards from Cleo's hand and deck. "I send back Dark Eruption and ShadowPriestess Ohm." Two new cards appeared; Left Leg of the Forbidden One and Destiny Hero Malicious. "_20 % success_." She smiled and ended her turn. "Ah, your deck is half-based on darkness, and the other half is based on getting Exodia out faster then normal. Such a style is hard to plan for, as far as I know, nobody has succesfully used Exodia before." At least not until this week.

"However, I have one Arcana that can disrupt your plans." She entered her turn, and sacrificed double-tribute Lovers, to normal summon a tall snake-like angel with eyes all over its body. "The sixteenth, Arcana Force XVI The Tower (2600/2600)." It was in an upright position. "Well this should hurt him, since he left his monster in attack mode." Sairve grinned. "Heh, but my machine has a second effect. If you kill it, I can draw a card from my deck." He explained. "Then this will be the perfect demonstration of the power of The Tower." The Arcana released a flare of bright energy, which leveled theCirculator, inflicting 2600 damage. "Because every time you draw a card during your turn, you must discard a card from your hand." Caine's left eye twitched, as she drew a card. "Is that so? Well this is not my turn yet, is it?" She added the card to her hand. "Still, If she keeps that up, he can never get all the exodia pieces." Nero was impressed, but since Jacob still maintained that smug look of his, he might have a way out of this.

Dark Cleo's LP: 5400

_Arcana Force XVI The Tower, 7/2600/2600 Light/Fairy  
When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
Heads: Your opponent must discard a card every time he draws a card(s) from his/her deck during his/her turn.  
Tails: Your opponent gains 500 lifepoints every time he draws a card(s) from his/her deck._

"And actually this helps me a lot, eheh." She drew again. "The Veil activates! My drawn card is a dark monster: Armageddon Knight which I discard to draw again!" And then at last, The Tower used its ability. The eye on its forehead opened and forced him to throw away two cards. "I discard these: Wall of Illusion and D-hero Malicious. The latter I shall remove from play, to special summon a second in defense mode(800/800)." He sneered. "That still gives me room for a normal summon, eheheheh." He placed a monster facedown. "So you attempt to stall me with shield monsters? I thought you were the one that did not want to hide.." She commented, as he/she ended his/her turn. "Well if you are so upset with my tactics, do something about it!" Ananka sighed and drew her card. "I shall, and first I will take down that Veil of yours!"

She summoned another monster. "Arcana Force V, The Hierophant!" To the field came the pope angel, staff in hand and a walking throne for a lower body(1500/1500). "His upright effect will destroy one spell or trap on the field, and th..." She silenced herself, when she saw that Hierophant looked downwards. That meant: whenever she attacked with it, half the traps or spells in her deck would be thrown away. "How, did that happen?" She flinched, when the memory hit her. "Of course, you have..her powers, you have the ring." Dark Cleo nodded. "I wondered when you would recall that. Of course, if she could control this thing, so can I..." Ananka shook her head. "Then I shall have to use brute force instead." The Hierophant slew D-hero Malicious with its staff, while she discarded four traps, including the trap: Hierophants Wand of all things. Next, the Tower targeted his facedown monster, crushing it with his tail. "Heh, remember this too?" Unfortunately the facedown monster was Newdoria(1200/1500), whose effect could kill a random monster.

_Arcana Force V Hierophant, 4/1500/1500 Light/Fairy  
When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
Heads: Once during your turn, you can remove 1 spell or trap card on the field from play, this card cannot attack during the turn this effect is activated.  
Tails: Send half of all your trap or spell cards from your deck to your graveyard, when this card attacks._

Naturally the Tower was the one that died. "Damn it, I chain with the Ace of Wands!" She flipped a counter trap. "This follows the death of a monster, and increase a players lifepoints depending on fate's revolve." Sadly, the Wand was aimed at Jacob, and not her, for he activated the rings curse a second time. "How generous of you." His/her LP would now increase by half of the dying monsters attack, so he gained 1300 LP. "My turn already, I did not feel a thing yet!" She yawned, and drew. The magic Veil was used again, as he severed Sangan to draw another card, the Right Arm of Exodia. "_40 %" _She/he then placed another monster facedown, and left it at that. "Come on, come on. You can not believe in your own determination, Annie, not if you let small things get to you." The evil goth laughed. "_Easy for him to say. This is the second time that I face someone that can influence my divination_." She clenched her hand around her necklace. _"But I know my item well, I shall not let my family's heritage be manipulated by this entity."_

Dark Cleo's LP: 6700

_Ace of Wand, Counter Trap  
Heads: When a monster is destroyed by a card effect, you gain lifepoints equal to half of the attackpoints of that monster card.  
Tails: When a monster is destroyed by a card effect, the opponent gains lifepoints equal half of the attackpoints of that monster card._

Back at the tower, Ned finally found something on the cameras. "The bad news is though.." He said to Christine. "This is footage from over an hour ago. That bastard is long gone." He showed her how Cadron came from a secret exit near the ground floor, and followed him through several gates. "He looks nervous." Rose noted, perhaps he was affraid of running into Anima? "Yeah, but now." Instead h ran into another member, Justine. "Oh!" The images went outside now, the two were talking, and headed for a helicopter. "I checked. They went to the main land. This is not good. Also.." He showed more footage from closer up. "And that is!" For some reason Cadron gave Justine the Orichalcum with Jacksons soul inside, a trade-off to hitch a ride they assumed. "And that was the only helicopter in this place too. All blimps and boats are recalled. We are indeed stuck here, waiting for Simone to fire the big laser of death." Nicolai grumbled. Everything now hinged on the progress of the four duelists below.

"Tribute summon!" At the duel site, Ananka sacrificed the Hierophant, to bring out the roulette wheel five-star monster. "Tenth Force, Wheel of Fortune (2000/2000)" It revolved, and ...it also ended up in a downfaced position. "Again?" Nero and Colin gasped. "This can't be.." She attacked with it, and killed his facedown Giant Germ(1000/100). When it died, two more would take its place(1000/100) and the killed Germ would poison her life for 500 damage. "This is not usual, even Cleo could not affect my fortune that much, not if I concentrate with all my might." She protested. "Thats because, she did not understand her power. I do.." He pulled out the ring. "Hell, not even you fully grasp the nature of this object. On its own, it makes for a handy cheating tool. Yet." 'He' took more things which he hid inside her gothic outfit, they were golden blocks, some interlinked with each other, some still loose. "Thats!" Nero recognized the shapes from his fathers work, and Ananka recognized them from the treasury vault. "Indeed, more pieces of the puzzle. And, in fact..."

Ananka's LP: 7500

He slid the ring from his finger, and clicked it against another piece. "Cleo's ring, is just another part of the puzzle. Its the top piece in fact." What was thought to be a stand-alone item, was in fact the handle of the puzzle, the top part through which the rope was suspended. "This is what I am after. Just like how Exodia grows stronger for every gathered limb, I grow stronger with every puzzle piece. Glyph knew that this deck would suit me. And let me update the score, Ananka. I already have two limbs, three to go." He drew another card. "You must have taken all those pieces from the vault, when I was not looking. You controlled her even then." Ananka cursed herself for having missed this before. "Naturally. I could not pass up the chance to steal what others have collected for me." Others like Nero's own parents. "Why did Tumaga gather them in the first place? Did they mine in Egypt too?" Nero asked himself, but loud enough so Jacob could hear. "Heh, I'd assume they went through darker circles, Nero."

"I mean how else do you think they would know about people like you and me, people with items? They started that tournament to lure us out, and youall fell for it!" And actually, he wanted to be found. "But I disgress." He drew, but it was not a dark monster, so the Veil did not trigger. Instead he placed a monster card facedown, and switched both his germ monsters to defense mode. "I still require three more pieces, therefore I need to defend myself for a little while longer." Next he removed his second Destiny Hero from play, to summon a third Malicious (800/800) also in defense mode. "Now I have four shield monsters, eheh." He ended his turn. "I can count." She rasped, and summoned to the eight force to the field. "Arcana Force VII, The Hermit (1900/1900)" Yet once again, the Arcana backfired, and looked straight at her instead. "_Kgh, I can not win this, he has to many pieces_." Things started to look desperate. "Heh, giving up so soon, I hope not. The shadowgame does not allow a surrender, your soul will be mine."

The fog became even thicker, it got harder for the others to see the players. Colin however did see that she started to get nervous. "Hey, Ananka! I thought you were the one that kept repeating not to listen to his words! Don't turn into a hypocrite now!" She flinched and looked back at him. "I was not!" She objected and played a spell card. "I was just thinking about..tch never mind. Spell card, Arcanatic Crescent Moon. When I play this spell I can sacrifice one Arcana, to allow another to attack all monsters on the field!" Cleo cringed, as The Hermit was tributed. "Fortune, kill all his shields!" The Wheel Arcana destroyed Malicious, his facedown Mad Reloader (0/0) and the two Germs, latter took down 1000 of her lifepoints, the middle allowed him to reload his hand, discarding two cards and drawing two new ones. Yet one of those discarded cards was a piece of Exodia. Since he had only 3 cards in his hand, he was forced to throw at least one away"Heh, was that supposed to hurt?" The other was Crush Card Virus

Ananka's LP: 6500

_Arcanatic Crescent Moon, Normal Spell  
Tribute one 'Arcana Force' monster card on your side of the field and select 1 other 'Arcana Force' monster card on the field. During this turn, the selected 'Arcana Force' monster cards can attack all monsters on your opponent's side of the field once each._

"I still did not feel a thing." Then he drew two cards, neither was a piece though. "My turn!" He drew a dark monster, which was discarded for the Veil. His next card was a spell "I play this: Beginning of the End. I have more then 7 dark monsters in the grave, so I can remove five of them (3 Germs, Newdoria and Wall of Illusion), to draw three new cards!" One of which was the Left Arm of Exodia. "Hey I got a question." Colin suddenly spoke to the villainess. "If you have Cleo's haxed powers, why do you need so much time and effort to get those pieces? You could just draw them all one after another." Ananka would normally have hated to admit it, but Sairve had a point. Miss Caine used her ring to draw whatever she wanted, without even knowing it. Perhaps that was the clincher? "Quiet, Colin, those who have no intentions of facing the darkness, should hide in the light" To get the point across, he erected a field of shadows to drive them back. "Oh no!" It was so thick, they could not get an inch closer. "Now nothing will save dear Annie, from death!"

(To be continued in Testament 51: Unchained)

**New Cards used by Ananka de la Isla**  
_Arcana Force XVI The Tower_  
_Arcana Force V The Hierohant_

_-_  
_Ace of Wands (+)_  
_Arcanatic Crescent Moon_

**New Cards used by Dark Cleo/Jacob**  
Vortex Trooper

-  
Veil of Darkness

_(+) Based on the card used by Saiou/Sartorius... sorta_


	51. Testament 051: Unchained

Testament 051: Unchained

The first train slowed down to a stop, as it docked inside an underwater bay, made of titanium and pressure-proof glass. The one who stepped out of the compartment was Simone, who had finally finished her trip down into the abyss. She walked towards an giant gate, which looked older then everything else in this area. "S.I.M. I am here." She called out to the AI, and suddenly the lights all turned on. "Welcome, mrs. Creed." The computer greeted her with its cold yet polite voice. "Thank you, Sim. Now then, I am here on urgent business, open these doors for me." And so it did, and smirking, she walked inside the green halls.

Meanwhile Dark Cleo looked really pissed. "I summon, the Doomsday Horror in attack mode!" He turned to offense, with a powered up ghoul (2100/2100). "This monster gains 300 points for every removed dark monster. Five from Beginning of the End, two Destiny Heroes Malicious; thats seven. So go and kill her Arcana!" The Horror cackled maniacally and slaughtered Arcana Force X, Wheel of Fortune with his long black claws. "I set two cards facedown, and end my turn." De La Isla did not know what to make of this. "_Even if Colin is right, knock on wood, he still has the power to disrupt the revolution of the Tarot." _She figured she might as well not bother anymore. "_I guess not even my necklace can help me forever." _So she casually summoned Arcana Force VIII, Justice (1800/1800). Yet it was this monster, who turned the future upside down. "Hey? He is upright again!" Nero gasped. "That can not be!" Cleo hissed. She was certain her puzzle blocked such fortune. "..I get it now." She smiled. "Jacob, you can not influence destiny anymore, no you never could."

Ananka's LP: 6400

"Justice attacks your monster!" The just Arcana tackled the Doomsday fiend, but since it was weaker it only got gutted. "Its effect then activates. It can destroy one monster on the field, when its killed during my battle-phase." Despite his kill, the Horror withered as well, its moans echoing throughout the tunnel. "How, did you figure out that, I was influencing your influence?" Dark Cleo asked the seeress. "I did not, I just stopped caring. It was because of that, that your trick was unveiled. You can not summon the power for your own good, can you? You can only control other millenium items. You stole Glyphs rod power, and you affected mine so that every time I used my necklace, I ended up switching the monsters to a bad position. Thats over now, I will trust on fate itself." She put the necklace away from her neck. "Fine then, but you still can not beat Exodia!" Jacob drew a spell card, so he could not use the Veil again. He activated Graceful Charity, drawing three cards, including the final limb, and discarding two more pieces of Exodia.

Ananka's LP: 6100

"80 % success! I activate Backup Soldier" The others gasped. "That card, he can take three normal monsters with less then 1500 atk back from the grave!" He used it to reclaim the severed legs and arm, all normal monsters with low attack. "Crap, that must mean he nearly has them all." Colin cursed. "Indeed, now lets see if you can stop the countdown of your death, Ananka. I place one monster for you to kill." He ended his turn. "I shall!" She activated Reverse Reborn, reviving Hierophant (1500/1500) with its tails-effect. "This card attacks your set!" The mechanic fairy fired lasers from its cannons, and she discarded more traps from her deck. "Eheh..and now I win." Cleo grinned, and flipped her monster..Deep Diver (1000/1100). "Oh no!" The Deep Diver allowed a duelist to place a monster card on top of their deck, when it was taken down. "Of course, I only want this one." He searched his deck for Exodia's head and placed it on top. "This is it, Ananka. The end for you, next turn I draw the fifth piece, and declare instant victory. You wasted your attack, you can not stop me!"

"Jacob, time does not move that fast." She said calmly, as she played Necro Sacrifice. "I have not normal summoned yet, so.." She could revive two monsters in her cemetery to Cleo's side, and tribute summon a highlevel monster. "Arcana Force XIX, The Sun(2900/2900)." A great spherical fairy appeared next to Justice in an upright position, while Caine gained Wheel of Fortune (2000/2000) and The Tower (2600/2600) in face down position. "And, what does this do?" She was confused by this act. "On its own, not much. But I was hoping you would use a card of some sort, to add the head to the top of the deck. Look at your monster." She pointed at Force X "No! Fortune's negative effect has to be used!" He had to take the top card from his deck, and negate its effect. "For the entire duel." Jacob was shocked. "Without the head, you cant declare an instant victory." Reluctantly, he complied, took Exodia's head and sealed its powers."I can not believe she did that!" Colin yelled. "End turn." She sighed a breath of relief, the danger had passed.

_Arcana Force XIX The Sun, 8/2900/2900 Light/Fairy  
When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
Heads: During your turn's End Phase, select 1 face-up monster on your opponents side of the field, and take control of that monster.  
(If you do not have an unoccupied Monster Card Zone, the selected monster is destroyed.)  
Tails: Once per turn you must special summon 1 'Sun Token' (Light/Fairy * 0/0) to your opponents side of the field._

"Before my turn ends, I use the effect of The Sun." The solar fairy grabbed The Tower with its tentacles and switched her to Anank's control. "Welcome back XVI." Next turn, she would overwhealm Jacob with sheer firepower. "Eheheh." Yet Cleo was laughing. "Ehehehehe! You think this matters to me!" She/he drew a card. And then, as if to demonstrate his apathy towards the Forbidden One, he revealed his spell. "The only destiny there is this one: Final Destiny!" He could discard five cards from his hands to destroy all cards on the field. He discarded all five Exodia parts, as if he wanted to make a statement. "Whoa!" The Sun, The Tower, Fortune and Chariot were wiped away along with Veil of Darkness. "Damnation is all that awaits you, we will not be contained!" One card remained in Jacobs hand. "If I can not summon his infinite power through normal means." Next he summoned a monster. "Unseal him through his incarnate: Exodius!" He called a mage-type, which resembled the Forbidden one in almost every way (?/0).

"Is that Exodia himself?" Colin asked. "No, he looks different, and the pieces should be in the grave." Then he entered his battle phase. "Exodius can only be special summoned by sending all fallen monsters back to my deck." The others flinched, as all those dark monsters were sent back in a heartbeat. "But you still can not activate Exodia." Ananka claimed. "We know that, but Exodius has a special power." Cleo attacked her with 'his' monster. "Every time it attacks, I can send a monster back to the cemetery! And for every dead normal monster, it gains 1000 attackpoints!" He discarded Exodia's left arm, which caused the arm of Exodius (1000/0) to bulge with muscles and veins, as it attacked the seeress directly.

Ananka's LP: 5100

"I see, so it uses the limbs of the actual Exodia to strengthen itself." She figured that its maximum attack strength should be 4000, since the four forbidden limbs would most likely be the only normal monsters in his deck. "_Then I will have to kill it before it reaches that height_." She entered her turn and normal summoned "Arcana Force III The Empress(1300/1300)" Which ended up faced down, but at least she knew that was not his doing. "It may not be much, but it can take him down!" She charged the forbidden god. "I can not allow that!" However she flipped his facedown card. "Defense Seal Wall! This negates your attack!" A transparent force pushed the Empress back. That ghostly force was actually shaped like Exodia's fist, which shielded the forbidden god. "Glyph gave you this many cards in advance?" She had to end her battle phase, and feared things would only get worse from here.

_Defense Seal Wall, Continuous Trap  
Activate only if you control a face-up 'Exodius, the Ultimate Forbidden Lord'. Once per turn you can negate the attack of an opponent's monster card. If 'Exodius, the Ultimate Forbidden Lord' is removed from the field, this card is destroyed._

"He did indeed, he had a lifetime to collect them, you could say. He just preferred Spell-counters over Exodia, for his duels is all. In his turn he simply attacked again, and killed The Empress with Exodius. This time he discarded the left leg, allowing Exodius to grow in size (2000/0). "So in the end, all that power of yours, is taken from others." Colin smirked. "I thought I already told you to stay out of this, Sairve? Besides, I am not the only one whose powers are borrowed." Ananka flinched. "Am I wrong, Miss Isla? Didnt you say your necklace came from the family? Let me do the predicting this time: you come from a long line of diviners, and that ornament has been passed down from generation to generation, to improve your fortune telling skills." He/she snickered. "Such hypocrisy, declaring me to be a parasite, when your kind has been misusing ancient Egyptian magic for centuries. And for a card game no less. I doubt that even you had the insight to know that this game carries mystical connections, like the Exodia pieces."

Ananka's LP: 4400

"Thats enough." It was her turn. "All those things you said, no matter how true, do not allow a comparison between us both. I never wanted to hurt anyone with this gift, I only wanted to help. Even Colin, with his inadequate predictions and his selfserving nature, never intended harm on others." Sairve was surprised that she actually complimented him. "Nero, Christine, Rose. They all suffered because of you, but it ends here. I will predict your future right here and now, you shall be exterminated!" She set a card and played a spell. "Suit of Cups, I can either draw from my deck, or you can draw from yours!" A chalice appeared in front of her. It too was a revolving card, and only fate could decide which end it landed on. And this time, fortune was her friend. The cup ended upright, which allowed her to draw five new cards from her deck. "Here we come!" She normal summoned Arcana Force I, The Magician (1100/1100), who also gained its positive effect: its attackpower was doubled in a turn in which a normal spell card was played.

_Suit of Cups, Normal Spell  
__If this card is in your graveyard, you can not draw cards outside of your drawphase.  
__When this card is activated, flip a coin and this gains the following effects:  
Heads: Draw cards from your deck until you have five cards in your hand.  
Tails: Your opponent draws five cards from his/her deck, skip your next drawphase._

"A spell like this: Choice of Fate!" The Magician powered up at the same time (2200/1100) "Choose one card from my hand, if it is a monster card, I can special summon it." Cleo grimaced and selected the middle of her three cards. "You selected the eighteenth force, The Moon!" Next to the Juggler, came Arcana Force XVIII The Moon(2800/2800). "Double attack!" She smiled, as the lunar angel fired a moonrock at Exodius. "I reactivate the Defense Wall!" Once again her attack was slapped away by the invisible force. "Thats okay, since.." Next the Magician attacked, and his continuous trap worked only once every turn. "Trap card, Astral Barrier!" But he was ready for that. ""Now all your attacks will be direct attacks, bypassing my monster!" An astral projection of Cleo's soul took the blow. "Or rather, you will attack Cleo from now on. And that hurt her..a lot. . Heheh, how could you Ananka?" Jacob teased her, imitating Cleo's voice rather well. "Damn it, leave her out of this!" Nero screamed. "I can handle this. Nero!"

Dark Cleo's LP: 4500

In her main phase 2, she played Divination of Fate. "Because you negated the attack of The Moon this turn, I can special summon a monster from my hand. This one will stop Exodius. Knight of Cups!" A king-like creature was spawned (1000/1000). "This is a card that also flips coins. Its based on the face cards instead." The Knight revolved into an upright position. "Now, this monster forces us both to send all dead cards back to the deck, including your Exodia Pieces." "!" This meant, he had to cast back the leg and arm, and Exodius returned to his normal self (0/0) "Yes!" The others cheered. While she ended her turn. "You delay the inevitable." He switched Exodius to defense mode, placed a trap card and ended his turn. "I am sorry then, I will end it right now." In her standby phase, The moon spawned a lunar-token (0/0).

_Knight of Cups, 3/1000/1000 Light/Fairy  
When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned flip a coin and this card gains the following effects:  
Heads: Both players unite all cards in their graveyards with their respective decks and shuffle them  
Tails: Both players' Life Points become 4000._

Then she sacrificed The Cup Knight for the reaper Arcana. "Force XIII: The Death(2300/2300). It was upright. "_Even without her necklace, she gains so many upright effects. Its as if some god out there, wants her to win_" Colin was amazed by her noncheating luck. "Death will revive The Knight back to the field." This time The Fool switched to negative mode, which turned both players LP to 4000 "Triple direct attack! I wont hold back, just because you send Cleo to take your hits. If I win, she will be released anyway!" All four Arcana struck. "Dark Wall of Wind!" Yet he came prepared with his instant spell. A wall of darkness covered the astral miss Caine, and negated all blows. "Close.." She called them back, hoping to get another chance next turn, since Astral Barriers effect was permanent, and the windwall was not. The others too felt elated, thinking that there was no way for Jacob to crawl out of this hole, Exodius was helpless, and he was running out of traps. "Draw.." But then, he changed expressions.

Ananka's LP: 4000 Dark Cleo's LP: 4000

"I win, Annie." He spoke with a malevolent tone. "I win, I win, I win!" He turned his twisted look to De le Isla, even she grew worried. "This card, now I see why Glyph shared it with me." He activated it, paying 1000 LP. "Diffusion Wave Motion!" They gasped, Exodius was a highlevel spellcaster, that spell worked on him as well! "I can attack each monster on your field now, and each time I will discard a card to make Exodius stronger!" He cackled, and started to the onslaught. "No!" First he slaughtered the defending token (1000/0), then The Knight (2000/0) causing 1000 damage to her LP. Next, The Magician (who was powered up again due to the Diffusion Wave), (3000/0) and The Death (4000/0) fell to its might. The blows cost her 2500 more LP. Only The Moon remained. "Die!" It released a final punch with its gigantic muscular arms and crushed her last monster. "Not so fast, I discard Arcana Force XIV, The Temperance from my hand, to negate the damage!" She yelled, and her lifepoints stayed at 500. "She is saved!"

Ananka's LP: 500 Dark Cleo's LP: 3000

Yet in that last instant, another fist came, right into her chest. "Unghrk." She coughed, and saw Jacobs spirit, causing her wound. "But, how?" The spirit grinned maliciously. "Silly seeress, couldn't you see? Exodius has a second power, it too can declare an instant victory!" He pulled back his bloodied hand. "The shadowgame is over. I win, you can die..."

Ananka's LP: 0

(To be continued in Testament 052: Me, Myself and Jacob)

**New Cards used by Ananka de la Isla**  
_Arcana Force XIX The Sun_  
_Knight of Cups_

_-_  
_Suit of Cups_

**New Cards used by Dark Cleo/Jacob**  
Doomsday Horror  
Deep Diver  
Exodius, the Ultimate Forbidden Lord

-  
Final Destiny  
Diffusion Wave Motion

-  
Backup Soldier  
_Defense Seal Wall(+)_

_(+) Based on the card used by Amon/Adrian in YGO GX season 3_


	52. Testament 052: Me, Myself and Jacob

Testament 031: Me, Myself and Jacob

"Unh!" Back at the Outerdeck facility, where Jackson and Cable remained, a moan filled the floors. It happened at the exact same time as Jacobs victory over Ananka, and it was Doe that felt a shot of pain. "Jack, whats wrong?" Cable asked him, he had just returned and saw his friend reaching for head, and resting against the wall. "..." Of course he could not answer in his condition, his personality was still silenced. "Jack?" Instead he looked out the window, and pointed a finger to the south. Cable realized which direction he aimed at. "You mean, something happened to them, something went down at Tower 0013?" He nodded with a grim expression. "That may be true. I just came back from the communication room. They say they lost all contact with the facility, over half an hour ago." And that could not be a good sign. "And there is more jack. I just received word of a disaster back at the tournament area." Doe's eyed widened. "Whatever is going on, we are losing options. Time is running out for all of us."

A similar feeling was experienced by Christine Rose, who was still with Ned in the camera room. "Oh no." She too sensed an agonizing jolt, when the shadowgame below seas came to a conclusion. "Rose, is everything okay?" Ned asked, when he saw her flinch. "I dont know, I just feel...sad for some reason." She shivered. Little did she know that during the time she had been possessed by Jacob, a link had been seeded inside her. Every time the shadow grew stronger, she felt a pulse of darkness. "I hope that has nothing to do with our friends then." Ned said, shifting his focus again to the secondary screen. "The satellite is still moving, whatever has gone on down there, they have not stopped Simone yet. In another half hour, not even a quick swim can get us to safety."

Ananka's LP: 0

"How.." The woman whimpered, as she clutched her bodily wound, the blood would not stop flowing. "How did you...win?" She could not get it, Exodia's power had been sealed, and all five pieces were sent to the grave. "Silly Annie, couldn't you see? Exodios has a second power, it too can declare an instant victory!" He pointed at the floor, all five pieces had formed a pentagram seal. "When it sends all five body parts to the grave, with its effect, the gate to infinity opens. Not even your Temperance can block that damage, its limitless, its death in its truest form." She slumped to the floor, her heart was beating erratically. "Ananka!" The others cried out, she stopped talking, stopped moving. "The shadowgame is over, I win." Dark Cleo approached the fallen seeress, holding a tarot card in her hand. "Oye, done already? I guess I overdid the penalty game." She dropped the 'The Death' Major Arcana card and smirked. "Never the less, your heritage ends here, this is mine." And then her greedy fingers claimed the Millenium Piece.

He then clasped on to the necklace with both hands, and pried it open as if it were made of lego blocks. "She never knew, eheh." What De La Isla had believed to be a separate item, were actually even more pieces of the puzzle. He cut the string and grabbed the three parts. Two were inserted into the frame-work of the puzzle, completing it. The final piece was the one with Ra's eye on it, it was one of the four walls. "Now all I need is Nero's pieces.. but in the mean time I suppose I can take over this body as well." However he was interrupted in the middle of his thoughts. "Get away from her!" by a fist that flew at his/her face. It sent the possessed goth back against the walls. The shadowy veil had been lifted, allowing the others to get through to him/her. "Oh thats right, you are still here." She smiled at a furious Nero and a thunderstruck Colin. Nero wheezed and stepped in front of Ananka, and Colin dropped to his knees to check on her. "No, she can not be.. Nero, she is not breathing!"

The others could finally see it clearly, feel it clearly, she was not moving again, ever. The wound had only been the illusion of his penalty game, but to her it felt real. "You monster." Real enough to alter destiny, to allow 'The Death' to mean just that, just for this one time. . "You killed her!?" Jacobus feared the worst, and hearing it made him even more enraged. "You did not have to go that far!!?" He cursed. "Every shadowgame has to end with a penalty game, thats the way it has been done since the ancient times. It is not my fault that her heart was so frail. Penalties can induce seizures and heart-attacks, she knew the risk." Blood trickled down from a cut on her cheek. "Heh, that actually hurt, little Nero. Are you going to stop hiding behind others, and face us already?" The spirit asked him. "No, I will not face her." He replied, and a smug grin formed on her face. "I knew it, I.." But it was not his turn to talk yet. "I will face you, and you alone." He pointed at himself. "Leave the others out of it, and come back to me."

Colins jaw dropped to the floor. "Dude, are you insane?" Jacob was equally stunned, but it was a pleasant kind of numbness. "Ah, you finally realize the truth. Or have you just gotten tired of running?" She/he relaxed, dropped the puzzle next to Nero and walked towards him. "This way, no-one else will get hurt." He took a few steps back, stopping in between compartments. "How noble." Of course, he had no intention of leaving anyone alive either way. "Then come." It was time at last, they stopped moving, Colin held his breath. Cleo took a deep breath, and exhaled. She collapsed immediately afterwards, and the malicious wraith floated out of her, and into the boy's body. "Ughaargh!" He screamed in pain for a moment. "Now!" And then all of the sudden, he pulled the lever next to him, and disconnected the two compartments. "Colin, restart it now, do it!" Shocked for a moment, he complied and reactivated the train. Sairve blinked and then he understood the plan. "You wanna get left behind, with him?!"

"Just do it!" He begged with all his might, he could not contain this malice for long. "Fine! I hope that you know what you're doing!" Colin yelled back at him, he rushed over to front. Next thing they knew, the train had been re-activated and the compartment with Colin, Cleo and Ananka on it was gone. "No!" Jacob shouted mentally, but it was too late for him to do anything. All he had left to influence was his original host and the puzzle. "I suppose you think this was terribly clever? I will chase after them anyway." He rasped towards the other Nero. "Perhaps, but I know one thing now, you can not control me as well as you could. They no longer talked with their bodies. "You can not kill anyone like this" They were both outside the physical plane, as their bodily self was undecided on which soul it was supposed to obey. The two faced each other on a mental level, Nero literally faced his own shadow. "You are correct, as much as I loathe to admit it. You must have taken your anti-wimp pills." He chuckled.

"I assume we will have to crush you, before you give it a rest." Nero nodded. "There will be no way to use puzzle magic here, so I look forward to crushing you as well." He rasped, and tried to materialize a dueldisk in this mind dimension. "A duel eh? I have something far superior in mind, to crack your resistance." Suddenly the mental world started shifting, moving to another area. "What are you doing?" He asked, as they stopped in the middle of a colorless void. "See that?" They were back. Back ath the realm that Arahabaki once visited, the realm which showed him images of the past, and the realm that ended at the two doors. "My memories? You want to beat me with my past?" He was almost disappointed to see such a simple solution. "Our past, Nero." He walked up to the second door, the one that Jackson never managed to open. "Remember the day we first met?" He cackled as he forced the gate to open, flooding the field with images of past events.

They focused in on the brightest of them all: a comatose father on the floor, and a shrieking mother. "This again" It was the same stuff he had seen during the final game of the tournament. "I know what you did to my family, Jacob." He tried to look away. "Do you? You can not even get in contact with these people anymore, every time you tried, something got in your way. Where are your parents now, Nero?" He still did not answer. "Okay, lets try something else. The truth... that is..." The image suddenly shifted, it was a new scene. It showed Nero's mother frantically trying to call a doctor. "She looks so kind, doesn't she.... Oh wait, what was her name again?" He inquired with a devilish glare. "You do not know? Ggh, that shows how much you care... Her name is.." He tried to answer it, but he could not find the words. "Her....name is?" He was shocked, but he could not recall it, why? "Annamaria Sullivan." Jacob was the one that had the answer. "Yes, Sullivan, thats our true last name, did you know that at least?"

Nero gasped again, he could not remember that either. Nor did he recall this scene. Now he saw himself, attacking his mother in the same way he attacked his father before! "No! That never happened, she is not in a coma!" He protested, yet in the next experience he watched himself inside a hospital, overlooking his near-dead parents on their beds. "Yes it did, and I know why you did not recognize this past." Jacob shut down the images, by closing the door once more. "Its because this kid, is not you." Nero flinched. "What, thats crazy, I am Nero!" Jacob shook his head. "But what is Nero?" He sneered. "This body's true name is not Nero Jacobus, its Jacobus Nero Sullivan. We first met on that day, because I created You, on that day." Everything went dark, even the light in Nero's eyes. "It was me that attacked my parents, with the help of the magic inside the puzzle. And then I made you, a split personality, to cast a shield of innocense with which I could fool the authorities." Nero could not believe what he was hearing.

"You, you lie!" He screamed. "No, I have always been like this, I have always been Jacobus. I only kept you around to get closer to other puzzle holders, and now it is over. You are not needed anymore, Nero." The mental plane seemed to spin around, chaos reighned. "You, this..you lie!" He screamed once more, swiping at his evil half. His pleas became repetetive, and this amused the entity. "To others yes, but why would I lie to you? We are of the same mind, can't you tell when I am lying and when I am not?" He suggested with a smug grin. "I only needed you to make friends, and to remain friends. I could not tell them that I was the true Nero, otherwise they would have abandoned us both. But now I have almost all the pieces, and then I can obtain the power that my father introduced me too." Nero stopped replying, he felt it was a lost battle. No matter how hard he tried, he could not remember his past, he could barely remember the days before the tournament as well. But something told him to think deeper.

"So give it a rest, Nero. Take a backrow seat and enjoy my show. You can not do anything else now that you have given yourself in to me." He laughed, and turned his back to him, walking away from what was now becoming his shadow. "Huh?" But something stopped him, for some reason he was still attached to the other. He could not abandon this reflection "No." And a small voice spoke up. "Come again?" He turned around. "I do not..believe you...it does not make sense!" Life returned to his eyes. "Jackson told me, he said that I was the real soul. He also said that you came from the puzzle!" He yelled. "Heh, you think that? I just fed Arahabaki a lie and.." But Jacob was not allowed to finish that sentence. "No! I know you are lying to me! I can not see why a child would attack his parents, why he would understand its power so well, why he needs the pieces in the first place. What are they for, Jacob?!" And for the first time, he did not have a quick answer ready. "Ananka and Doe were right, you Are a parasite, nothing more!"

Jacob grinded his teeth. "Watch your tone boy, I am this body's true master, without my power you are nothing." But Jacobus shook his head again. "I dont care what you say, in my eyes you are nothing but a spirit that hid inside an ancient artifact. Even if I am wrong and you are right, that wont persuade me to go out of your way!" He finally summoned a dueldisk from thin air, along with his cards. "I will not let you, me, us, do any more harm. You will have to defeat me, to silence me!" In response, Jacob just smiled. "Your funeral." He too summoned a dueldisk from his own arm. "If I win. You will cease to exist... alternate me." He started shuffling his deck, so did Nero. "And If I win, you will never be allowed inside my body. Never again!" They were done, and drew their cards. "Since I initiated the challenge, I will go first!" Nero drew five cards. "Fine by me. A warning though: since we share minds, we also share the same deck. I know everything thats in your hand as soon as you draw it. You are as good as dead... weaker me.."

(To be continued in Testament 053: Obscured Fusion)


	53. Testament 053: Obscured Fusion

Testament 53: Obscured Fusion

Simone was now seated on a marble-plated couch, enjoying a fine glass of wine, as was her custom. "It tastes even better underwater." She appeared to be inside a lounge, surrounded by darkened structures and pillars. But there was also technology present, apparent due to the message that SIM gave her over a hidden intercom. "**Lady Creed, a report**." Its cold voice echoed throughout the deepsea site. "What is it?" She asked as a video screen presented itself to her. "**Secondary track unit was launched at 0247 AM. Four unauthorized occupants inside. Unit stopped movement at 0310 AM, measuring unusual high mana ratings." **Simone was not surprised to hear that. "The kids tried to follow huh. Feh, they will come to late now. Any idea why they stopped the train?" The computer could not compute an answer, all it knew was that it was stopped from the inside. "Oh well, lets wait and see. _Flooding the tunnel sounds like fun, but it would take to long for it to drain again, and I do not want to be stuck here."_

Nero's LP: 8000 Jacobs LP: 8000

The two duelists begun their game, each drew the same cards. (Super Fusion, Wildheart, Sparkman, Graceful Charity and Hero Signal). "But if we have the same deck, you can not use Exodia in this duel." He smiled "Like I would need it against little Nero. And since you asked so nicely, you go first." Nero drew a sixth card: Elemental Hero Burstinatrix. "I set a monster card, and place two trap cards, end turn." Jacob of course knew what those cards were. "Ehehe, draw." He even used the same moves as him. "Set two trap cards, and summon E-hero Wildheart in attack mode(1500/1600)" He ended his turn. "_I know your facedown, little Nero, you placed Wildheart, whose defense is greater then my offense right now._" As far as Nero knew, Jacob had the same traps placed down, but he was not sure if he had been lying again. "Affraid already?"

"Shut up." He was going to attack after all. He drew a card from his hand (Spark Blaster) "First I normal summon E-hero Burstinatrix (1200/800) Then I flip Wildheart (1500/1600). Mine attacks yours!" The two wild men charged at each other and slaughtered themselves. "Then I activate my trap Hero Signal!" He yelled, and not much to his surprise, played the same card. Though he yelled the exact same thing at first. "I use Hero Signal to special summon E-hero Avian(1000/1000), what about you?" Nero nodded and did the same thing(1000/1000), both were called in defense mode. "I attack yours with the Burst Lady!" But then, his second card was activated. "Super Fusion!" He discarded a Sparkman from his hand. "Eeheh, remember? My version of Superfusion can summon even Evil Heroes! In this realm, my power overrules fusion!" He took Nero's Burstinatrix and merged with his own Avian, to call out Evil Hero Inferno Wing(2100/1200). "Snap, I can not chain to Super Fusion.." He had no choice but to end his turn.

"My turn?" He drew Evil Hero Infernal Gainer. "Now I realize, since I activated Hero signal before my seventh card, our decks were shuffled in a different way. From here on in, our hands will be different. Lets make it definite I play Graceful Charity!" He drew three new cards (Malicious Edge, Polymerization and Dark Calling). "I discard these two from my hand: Polymerization and Infernal Gainer." Next he normal summoned to the field, E-hero Burstinatrix(1200/800). "Now then, Inferno Wing inflicts piercing damage and burning damage. So eheheh, here I come!" Yet this time Nero was amused. "Hey, you did not forget my other facedown did you, you must know what it is." He flipped it. "I use Super Fusion as well! To combine your Burst lady with my Avian." He discarded his own Sparkman for the spell, and united the opposing heroes into Elemental Hero Flame Wing (2100/1200) "How interesting, good VS evil hits a new high!" He cracked his knuckles. "But I let you make that move, suicide has always been one of my favorites!"

He attacked, and both Winged warriors consumed each other in hellfire and magnificant flames. Since neither was on the field when the massacre resolved, their burning effects could not activate. "You see I expected that you would use Super Fusion. Its the card I granted you after all. If I had not crushed Rose, you would still be stuck with cards like Edge Hammer." That touched a nerve with Nero, since it was Edge Hammer that cost him the duel with the judge. And because of that, Jacob had to come out and mindwipe Pulse, just so he could enter the tournament after all. "You know, I am beginning to believe that it was your fault to begin with." He drew again, and activated Graceful Charity. "Eh?" He blinked. "If you had control over me on that day, whats to stop me from assuming that you planted Edge Hammer back into my deck?" This would imply that Jacob wanted Nero to lose, just so he could come out and make up for the loss. Nero drew thrice and discarded Spark Blaster/H-Heated Heart from his hand.

"Now thats childish, Nero. You can only blame yourself for.." Yet then he played the spell card Miracle Fusion, combining Sparkman and Flame Wing in the cemetery to form E-hero Shining Flare Wingman (2500/2100), then he shut up. "Thats just the thing, you are me, thats what you said." Flare Wing powered itself up with 300 for his other fallen E-heroes. (Wild/Avian/Burst = + 900 atk) and attacked (3400/2100) Jacob directly. "Aren't we brilliant?" He grunted as he received the blindening and fiery hit. "Two can play those games. All you failures, go along with my victories." He placed a trap facedown.

Jacobs LP: 4600

"Dark Calling" Jacob removed Inferno Wing and Sparkman in his graveyard from play. "I counter your flare warrior, with my demonic flame. Unholy Flare Wing!" He called out the black armored female counterpart(2500/2100) to the Shining warrior. "Of course it is superior to yours in every way, because it gets the same powers...for all heroes, even evil ones. And also, it inflicts piercing damage, so defending will not help you, little Nero." Since Infernal Gainer was in his grave, his was slightly stronger (3700/2100). "Let this be a testament to your weakness, little Nero. Your cards, your will, they are all below me, overshadowed by me!" The Unholy warrior used black flames to immolate his benevolent counterpart, and inflicting effect damage equal to her victims offense. "I will never return to the darkness. Dig yourself out of this hole, nothing can surpass my Unholy warrior in strength!"

Nero's LP: 4300

_Evil Hero Unholy Flare Wing, 8/2500/2100 Dark/Fiend/Fusion  
Elemental Hero Inferno Wing + Elemental Hero Sparkman  
This card cannot be special summoned except by the effect of 'Dark Fusion'. This card gains 300 ATK for each 'Hero' card in your Graveyard, and inflicts piercing damage. When this card destroys a monster as a result of battle and sends it to the graveyard, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK or DEF of the destroyed monster._

"Uhnn." Back in the train, a soft moan alerted Colin to the fact that Cleo was coming by again. But his tensed nerves kept him from moving. "What the, what happened? Why is the train half-missing?" She got up, and just then she saw her, Ananka. "And whats wrong with her?" She asked with half-annoyed, half-worried tone. "She is...gone." Colin sighed. "Jacob did that, gave her a penalty game, and her heart did not last through it." The goth gasped. "What? Thats not possible!" She shouted and looked at the body again. "Is it?" Alarm was quickly replaced with outrage."Where is he, where is that bastard!" She apparently was not aware that it was her body who gave the Penalty, not that she was to blame for that. "Its too late for that, Nero is facing him right now!" Colin yelled back, trying to get a grip on the situation. "Ananka's dead, and we can do nothing about that. We should let Nero deal with his demons, we need to deal with ours." It would take 30 minutes now. "Ggh, damn it. If he fails to destroy that guy, I will kill him!"

The mental duel continued, and the halfway point had already been reached. Nero drew his card. "That is true, but..even a Dark Fusion is a fused monster card." He summoned E-hero Stratos (1800/400), using its effect to add E-hero Captain Gold to his hand. "And I know at heart, the weakness of a fused being. Spell card: De-fusion!" Jacoc stopped grinning, as his Flame demon was separated and sent back to the fusion deck. "Is that your game?" De-fusion could only revive the fusion materials if they were in the spell card controllers graveyard, Jacobs grave was not Nero's. "Indeed!" He attacked with Stratos, charging the villainous spirit with sharp winds. "Heh, you can play dirty after all." He snickered. "Do you deserve any better?" He asked as he ended his turn.

Jacobs LP: 2800

"I suppose not." He drew a card and his lips curled into a vicious smile again. "Of course, you still can not beat me. Elemental Heroes are like ants compared to their evil counterparts. You would know that too, since they crushed their opponents each and every time." He special summoned from his hand, Evil Hero Infernal Prodigy(300/600), which was allowed because he had no monster cards on his field. "Just look at this one, Malicious Edge. Why would you use 'Bladedge' when you can use this?" Malicious could be tribute summoned (2600/1800) with only one tribute, which was the Prodigy. This also allowed Jacob to draw a card. "If Evil Heroes are so invincible, why did Jackson beat you?" The kid replied with a smirk. "Pfeh, he had to use his own souls to vanquish me. Meanwhile you have no link with your cards, do you? Would you even flinch if I slaughtered this monster right in front of you?" Malicious Edge stretched out his left hand, and fired spike knuckles from it. They impaled the aerial Hero, sending him to the grave, screaming.

Nero's LP: 3500

"You hear those cries? Its weeping for his masters weakness, eheheh." He ended his turn. "You can not continue these lies, Jacob. Whatever I see here is likely a product of your shadowgame, I will not be distracted again. I activate E-hero Emergency Call!" He added E-hero Vice Captain Silver to his hand. "Here I come! Polymerization!" He tried to activate the fusion spell, unfortunately that was just the card that the fiend was waiting for. "Polymerizing? I dont think so! Continuous Trap: Within Fusions Shadow!" Suddenly, the field beneath them turned into a crimson grid. "What is happe..ning?" His spell melted right between his hands, like blood it dripped to the floor. "Its simple, Nero, fusion is no longer allowed." The drops flowed to his side, into his hand. There they took a solid shape, the spell card: Dark Fusion. "Every time you try to use a card that fuses monsters, it will be converted into a Dark Fusion spell card, for my side." He cackled. "Dont look so upset though, you can draw a card every time this happens."

_Within fusions shadow, Continuous Trap  
As long as this card is face-up on the field, when your opponent activates a spell or trap card, which effect includes fusion summoning from the fusion deck, negate the cards activation and effect and destroy it. Afterwards you can add 1 'Dark Fusion' from your deck or graveyard to your hand, and your opponent can draw one card from his/her deck._

The card he drew was O-Oversoul "So that means, only Dark Fusion is allowed in here?" That was not good, he could not beat Malicious Edge without fusion. "Damn it, then I set a monster card and end my turn." Jacobs smile grew even wider. "You are right, this is the realm of darkness. This place does not accept your inferior cards. And now its time for you to face one of my strongest devils, one that even Doe feared...Dark Fusion!" He activated his selfclaimed spell, to fuse Malicious Edge on his field with a highlevel fiend, another Malicious Edge. "Malicious Devil (3500/2100) ascends from hell to cut out your weak heart. Die little Nero die!" The winged demon flew into the air and dived straight into Nero's facedown Captain Gold (2100/800), slashing the hero to ribbons. "I am not..done yet.." He groaned. "You might as well be, without fusion you could not even match my Edge demon. Dont even think about attacking the Devil." He placed a trap card facedown and ended his turn. "But if you want more pain, try anyway.."

"I promised to rid the world of your malice, and I shall." He discarded the Silver hero from his hand, to add Skyscraper 2 to his hand. Immediately afterwards, he activated the field. "Skyscraper 2, the Hero City. I can revive one elemental hero per turn." He selected Stratos in defense mode (1800/400) of course, and uses his effect to add E-hero Bubbleman to his hand. "There is more!" He also played the spell Oversoul, to revive Burstinatrix from his grave to the field (1200/800) in defense position. "I will destroy both your cards at the same time." Finally he played R-Righteous Justice, to destroy as many spells and traps as there were E-heroes on the field. "There are two heroes on my field, so I destroy your set card and 'Within Fusisons Shadow'." Yet this triggered a counter trap. "That desperate for fusions huh?" It was Dark Bribe, which negated a spell or trap, at the cost of giving the opponent a free draw. "No!" His spell faltered, and Jacobs continuous trap remained. "There is no hope for you here, nobody will protect you anymore."

Cursing, he drew his card, and ended his turn. Malicious Devil massacred the defending Stratos with ease. "Now then, I must ensure that you dont get any ideas. I will drain some of your time." He played a field spell, replacing Skyscraper 2 as the active field. Instead there came tall and decayed skyscrapers, smoke stacks and broken cars. "Vice City. This card makes all my Evil heroes immune to targeting effects. And here is the catch for you. You can not hide from battle anymore." Nero wondered what he meant, but then he found out when in his turn, he could not skip his battle phase. "Oh no." Burstinatrix was forced into the phase by Vice City and compelled to do battle with the Malice demon, because of his own ability. "Oh yes." The brainwashed Fire warrior fired a flame bolt at the devil, which was easily punched back. She disappeared in her own blaze, and he lost 2300 lifepoints. "Do you still think that you can win this, little Nero? Is your promise that much stronger then your fear?" He cackled madly.

Nero's LP: 1200

_Vice City, Field Spell  
As long as this card is on the field, all 'evil hero' monster cards are unaffected by effects that target. As long as this card is on the field, both players must enter their battle phase during their turn._

But Nero looked at a card in his hand, placed it facedown and smiled. "Yes... yes it is. Jacob, I will step up my game now...its time for something new."

(To be continued in Testament 054: Beyond the Looking Glass)

**New Cards used by Jacob Nero**  
_Evil Hero Unholy Flare Wing_

-  
_Vice City_

_-_  
_Within Fusions Shadow_  
Dark Bribe


	54. Testament 054: Beyond the Looking Glass

Testament 054: Beyond the Looking Glass

"Something new?"

Nero still continued to duel, by setting Bubbleman on his field, facedown monsters were not affected by Vice City. "Yes..I will not give up until my life is reduced to nothing, if thats what you are asking." He finished his turn. "You really are a lost case, so be it...Die!" Malicious Devil initiated his third murder, and cleaved the water elemental in such a way that not even a judge would recognize it. "Trap card!" And that was the moment where Jacob stopped being able to predict what his other half would activate. "Neo Signal!" For he did not recognize that trap card, not at all. A light beacon spelling out the latter 'N' appeared above Vice City's skyline. "What is..that?" A small mole appeared before him (900/300) "This is N-Spacian Grand Mole, dont you remember? I used it before against Ned. Neo Signal allows me to summon a Neo Spacian when a monster on my field is destroyed." The signal disppeared again. "There is a difference between our decks after all, Jacob. I did not realize it until I drew last turn. But while you have Evil heroes in your deck."

_Neo Signal, Normal Trap  
Activate only when a monster on your side of the field is destroyed and sent to the graveyard. Special summon 1 level 4 or lower 'Neo-Spacian' monster from your hand or deck._

"...I have the power of Neos in mine." Jacob gritted his teeth. "You are even less like me then ever before.. Nero." He placed a card facedown. "My turn... Vice City forces me to attack. But, I want too!" The mole then activated its effect, burrowing deep into the ground. "Argh, thats how Ned lost his..." The Mole then came up from the ground, drilling right into the devil. "Yes! With its effect, the N-spacian bounces itself and its assailant back into players hands. And this effect does not target, so Vice City can not stop it." Or in this case, the hand and the fusion deck, which was where Malicious Devil came from. "You want to compete with me, at this level?" He spat. "I think its the only way, in which I can stop you from anticipating my every move, Jacob. You may know my Elemental deck inside and out, but Neo Space is a whole new area for you and me to discover." But Jacob activates his own signal. "Bah, you're mental, nothing can stop evil." He used his own trap: Evil Signal, a red skylight appeared, showing the letter 'E'.

_Evil Signal, Normal Trap  
Activate only when a monster on your side of the field is removed from the field. Special summon 1 level 4 or lower [Evil Hero] monster from your hand or deck._

He special summoned Evil Hero Infernal Gainer (1600/0) "I will crush both Neos and Elemental!" Nero realized that he was wide open, he could normal summon Grand Mole again, but he had a better idea. "I activate this card: Future Fusion!" The continuous spell clashed with 'Within Fusions Shadow'. "You idiot, nobody is watching us here, stop pretending!" The trap negated that spell too. "The shadows are all around, everyone has abandoned you!" Futire fusion turned to blood, the blood turned to Jacob, and he added Dark Fusion to his hand again. Nero however needed this more then he liked. "Draw." He could draw again as well, and he received a good spell. "I activate Convert Contact! I can only use this card when my field is empty! I can discard a Neo-Spacian from my hand and deck, to draw two new cards." He discarded Grand Mole and a monster from his deck. He obtained a monster and a trap card. "Then, since I did not yet normal summon, I call Neo-Spacian Hummingbird (800/600) in attack position, and activate its effect. For every card in your hand, I can gain 500 lifepoints." He raised his LP by 500, since Jacob only had Dark Fusion. "Finally I set a trap card, and end my turn."

Nero's LP: 1700

"Are you serious? You expect me to fear those weak creatures? Pfeh, Grand Mole was the one that could have helped you the most, and you threw him away. Then again I suppose this suits you more, little Nero. My weakest Evil Hero is twice as strong as your mightiest Neo-spacian, eheheh. So just die already!" He still had the infernal demon on his field, and attacked the bird with it. "Trap card!" He revealed his facedown. "You cant target my evil heroes!" But Vice City had no effect on this card either. "Widespread Ruin, this trap kills the strongest monster on the field, so it does not actually target!" A claymore mine attached itself to the Hell Gainer, and blew it to pieces. "You know Jacob... for a parasite of the inner mind, your eyes do not often see passed the surface." He said. "I don't need to look beyond that, I already know your strengths and weaknesses." Jacob growled. "Then what are they, if you know them so well?" He inquired with a smile. "Its obvious, your reliance on fusion, it mirrors your reliance on friends."

"You seek companions, and you try to gain approval and self-esteem from them. Thats why you even tried to befriend people like Cleo Caine." Nero flinched. "Dont give me that sad look.. You demanded an answer, and now you have one! So go ahead, draw, show me your next pathetic Neo-Spacian!" He said loudly "You..." He sighed, and summoned Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (300/900) to the field, it was a glowing ball of plant matter. "How adorable." Jacob cackled. "Even so, you left your field open." Then the two Neo-spacians atatcked the spirit with light and wind energy. "Oh, owch, please stop, I cant take anymore." He remarked dryly. "Are you done yet?" But then he noticed that his dueldisk slot opened, he could draw a card? "This is the effect of Glow Moss. It allows my opponent to draw a card, when it attacks. Depending on what you draw, I can either attack directly, end the battle phase, or put Glow Moss to defense mode. You must have drawn a spell card, since it still attacked." Jacob had drawn a spell indeed. "You must be suicidal, ahaheh." And now that he had three cards in his hand, he reactivated the ability of Hummingbird, to gain 1500 LP. "Perhaps the solitude has driven you to this, but I shall put this spell to good use.."

Nero's LP: 3200 Jacobs LP: 1700

"Dark Factory of Mass Reproduction, I can add two normal monsters with less then 1500 atk, back to my hand." He reclaimed Burstinatrix and Avian from his cemetery. "As I said before, only my fusion is allowed here." He pointed to his continuous trap. "In the shadows, you are alone, and weak. But I grow stronger from this singularity..Dark Fusion!" He then played the spell, to combine Clayman, Burst Lady, Avian and Bubbleman. "Earth, fire, wind, water, all four elements fuse into the ultimate evil: The Arcane Grimorum!" In front of Nero stood the dark counterpart to Electrum, Evil Hero Grimorum (2900/2600). The evil oozed off of his black plated armor, and his eyes glowed a fierce blood crimson. The blood leaked into the Neo-spacians as well, they started to cringe and moan. "Even your friends, now turn to darkness. Grimorum turns all elements into his own, and decreases their power for all dark-types on the field." Glow Moss (0/0) stopped glowing, and the Bird (0/0) no longer looked cheerful. "My monsters are dark types?" Jacob nodded. "And Grimorum weakens any monster besides itself, they all lose 300 points per dark monster on the field. Now, be gone Humming Bird!" He took care of the healer first

Nero's LP: 300

_Evil Hero Grimorum, 8/2900/2600 Dark/Fiend/Fusion  
[Elemental Hero Avian] + [Elemental Hero Burstinatrix] + [Elemental Hero Clayman] + [Elemental Hero Bubbleman]  
This card cannot be Special Summoned except by the effect of [Dark Fusion]. This card is unaffected by spell cards. As long as this card is on the field, all face-up monster cards on the field are treated as the Dark-Type, and all your opponents monster cards attack and defense points are decreased by 300 for each dark-type monster on the field. When this card is removed from the field, remove a dark-type monster card in your graveyard from play, and increase your lifepoints by an amount equal to that monster cards attackpoints._

"You see now, all light is gone, Grimorum suffocates it all." He spoke with confidence, he was certain of victory now. "No, not yet, there is always light. I will break free of this void, Jacob, and then you will never haunt me again." He drew a spell and his eyes widened. "All it takes, is a burst of light. HERO Flash!" He played the spell, to remove H-Heated Heart, E-Emergency Call, R-Righteous Justice and O-Oversoul in his cemetery from play. "The letters H, E, R, and O combine! This spell allows me to summon a normal monster from my deck: the hero of Neo Space: E-hero Neos" The champion of neo justice temporarily illuminated the field, as he (2500/2100) descended. This was the trump of Neos monsters. "Then, during this turn, it can attack the opponent directly!" Already though, the shadows attached themselves to Neos, Grimorum obscured his powers as well (1600/1200). "I will still hit you!" It punched Jacob square in the gut, and nearly killed him as well. "Eheheh, thats not going to cut it."

Jacobs LP: 100

"Close, but not close enough!" Before the massacre could begin, Nero placed his last card facedown, and switched Glow Moss to defense mode. "A different kind of opponent would commend you for making it this far, but I do not care for sympathy. You failed, so you die!" Grimorum unsheathed a gigantic scimitar, and slammed it down in the face of Neos. "Not so fast!" But then he flipped his trap card, Neospacia Road. "This trap negates battle damage done to E-hero Neos, and allows me to add 1 [Neo-Spacian] from my cemetery to my hand." He took back the Black Panther. "Still you run.. cant you do anything else? You avoid the truth, your own weakness, your own fate!" He placed a trap facedown. "I am not running, Jacob, I am not going anywhere. I am here for those you killed and harmed. Now let me show you another kind of fusion." He drew again, and summoned Black Panther(1000/500) to the field. With four monsters on the field, everyone lost 1200 points (Panther: 0/0, Neos: 1300/900)

_Neospacia-Road, Normal Trap  
Activate only when a face-up monster with [Neos] in its name is attacked. Send 1 [Neo-Spacian] monster card from your graveyard to your hand, to negate the battle damage done to that card this turn._

Jacob blinked "Another fusion? You cant do that, my trap blocks all kind of fusion cards!" But still the Panther and Glow Moss were removed from the field. "Contact Fusion does not need spells to combine with the creatures from Neospace, I thought you knew everything I knew?" In this case Black Panther, Glow Moss and Neos formed a monster of light and darkness. "Chaos Neos(3000/2500)" However, even with the nice introduction, Grimorum could still lower its power (2400/1900) "Ehaheheh, you can not win, you can not." He repeated, sounding madder every turn. "But it has an effect too, you know" Nero pulled out three coins. "A gamble effect that does not target!" He tossed all three, they landed one after another. "Depending on the number of heads, I can either." The first two were heads. "Negate effects, or.." And the third was heads as well. "Destroy all monsters on my enemy's field." The chaotic hero stretched out its claws, and banished Grimorum from the field with a mere gesture. "No!"

Jacobs LP: 2700

He lost his monster, neither immunity could stop the effect of Chaos Neos. "Ha! At least I can recover lifepoints by removing Malicious Edge from play!" Grimorums ultimate ability was to do just that, his life went up, but so did the attack of Chaos Neos (3000/2500). "Thats not enough, Jacob, it ends!" Chaos Neos attacked directly, a direct attack would take care of that lifepoint boost. "It ends when I say it ends! Widespread Ruin!" So he flipped his trap card to destroy Chaos Neos. "Ahahah, did you think I would go down that easy? We have the same traps remember!" The claymore mine took care of the contact fused warrior, not a scrap was left. "..." But Nero did not talk back, he activated a quickplay spell from his hand. "Reverse of Neos." And the graveyard opened again. "This card revives E-Hero Neos when a Neos fusion is destroyed during my turn. And that monsters attack is increased by 1000 points." The dying Chaos Hero was replaced with a stronger E-Hero Neos (3500/2100).

"N-NO!" He could not believe it, he was out of defenses, out of tricks to play. "Sorry, but I know you always have a last-desperation move, because I have one as well. I wont let you get away..." Neos could also attack during this battle phase. "You can not, you can not kill me! I am the true Nero, you are the fake!" He went ballistic and tried to run away from the duel field. "You are not me, and you wont become me!" Neos was right behind him. "This is for my parents, for Ananka and for all my friends, Neos Flare!" Then at last Jacobs lifepoints were reduced to nothing by the final fiery attack from the E-hero. As a result he started to wither like dust in the wind. "No, not yet, I can not die ...yet." He coughed with his last few breaths. "Ghh, Nero..dont you know..what I..?" He tried to say... but even quicker then that, he was gone. The seed of malice had been vanquished. Neo was left alone with the silent world again, but it was a happy kind of silence. "I wish I knew..what you...we were."

Jacobs LP: 0

Meanwhile, Simone received a notice frim SIM again. Apparently the train compartment had begun moving once more, and it would arrive soon. "Ugh, should have seen that coming. You should report your news faster, SIM, they will be here any minute now." She sighed and got up from her comfortable couch. "_Oh well, I guess if I anyone has to defend this city from intruders, the adopted daughter of the one that found will suffice_." She walked out of the lobbey, and placed an Orichalcos-style dueldisk on her wrist. "_Nobody will set foot in Atlantis, nobody will stop project Zetto."_

"Finally." Cleo rasped as the monorail slowed to a stop once more, only this time it was not Jacob that forced the vehicle to stop, they had simply reached their end-destination. The other train was right next to them, so they knew this was the place where Simone ended up. "Well then lets not wait around." He opened the door. "What about her, we can't just leave her, can we?" She was talking about the body, that which remained of Ananka de la Isla. "..I dont know what to do...we can not send her back up stairs, the tunnel is blocked." Abandoning her seemed like the wrong thing to do anyway. Yet carrying her would slow them down. "I think she would want us to save those that are still alive first." He sighed and turned away from her. "Well its not like anyone will harm her now." Caine tried to lighten the mood, the situation was morbid even for her taste. "At least lets put her somewhere else then this cold floor." And so they did, as soon as they left the compartment, they seated the former Seeress against the walls. They gave her one last look, and then they went through the doors ahead of them. Once they reached the other side, they were greeted with a display that surpassed their expectations

(To be continued in Testament 055: At the Gates of Atlantis)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
Neo Spacian Hummingbird  
Neo Spacian Glow Moss  
Elemental Hero Neos  
Elemental Hero Chaos Neos

-  
Convert Contact  
HERO Flash  
Reverse of Neos

-  
_Neo Signal (+)_  
_Neo Spacia Road (+)_

_(+ Based on the traps used by Judai/Jaden)  
_

**New Cards used by Jacob Nero**  
_Evil Hero Grimorum_

-  
Dark Factory of Mass Production

-  
_Evil Signal_


	55. Testament 055: At the Gates of Atlantis

Testament 55: At the Gates of Atlantis

The front doors opened, they left the docking bay. "What in the world?" Until now this place, this tunnel, all had been a construct of glass, steel and plastic. Yet now they could clearly see through the glass, what was in the middle of this network. A complex of deepsea pressure tunnels all surrounded it, hidden on the low levels of the ocean, an ancient ruin. "This was the site that they found, eher they dig up their Orichalcum?" In the distance there were drills, and even powerlines. But still the ruin stood out most, parts of it were breached by drills, other sections were connected to the tunnels. It appeared that this one led directly into the heart of the ruin. "Where are we?" They had never been more confused, something like this one only saw in a phantasy tale. "Atlantis would be my guess." It was unusually light in this area, in spite of their current depth. Aside from the neon light posted every mile, there was a greater lightsource at the center of the ruin, a large glowing rock on top of what looked like a pyramid. "Hmmm."

The tunnel became wider as they walked through it, they could see more as they got closer to the pale green stone. "I think that would be the entrance." They could see it at the end, a large hall lied in waiting. This was the connection between modern science and ancient technology. "Oh!" The hall stopped with a large gate, which looked remarkably advanced for a door that was supposed to be god knows how old. "So, how do we open this one?" He banged the door, but all the response he got was a loud echo. "Maybe Tumaga added this door, it does not look like a ru..wait." She heard a faint sound. "Step back, now!" He quickly retracted his hand, as the two doors opened outwards, the grinding sound they made against the floor was almost deafening. "We did not remake this door, it was like this to begin with." A loathsome voice cut through the opening, and from the green light came the corrupted woman herself. "Atlantis had things that we can only dream off." Simone greeted them with a smirk.

As soon as she had entered the hall, the doors started to close down again. With her in the way, they could not get near in time. "Only two, I am quite surprised by this. Were the others delayed?" She smiled. "None of your business." Caine retorted. "Wait, what did you say? This place has what?" Sairve was more interested in this confusing city then in her. "I should hope that I have not been talking in another language, kid. I said that Atlantis had technology that is better then ours in many ways. In fact when my father found this place, he also got rich with reverse engineering. Most of modern convenience, you can thank on this place." She tapped a dueldisk on her wrist. "It is just too bad that both my father and this site, shared a similar fate." She gave them a look, that dared them to inquire further. "I will regret asking this, but ..what fate?" Sairve said. "They both died by the same element: Orichalcum." The two duelists flinched. "Its a blessing and a curse, he died of radiation poisoning..over-exposure to the mineral.

She did not look at all sad as she recalled this. "Since then we ensured reduction of its daily output, to negate the radiation." The large green stone in the background did not seem all that innocent anymore. "But enough about that. I am here to say: this is as far as you two shall go. Children can not be allowed to touch this hallowed metropolis." With that disk of hers, it was obvious she wanted to duel the intruders.. "You keep calling us children, but you are like what...21, 20?" Cleo hissed, and was about to pull out her own disk. "Oh no no no, this one I want..." Colin grunted, and activated his own device. "What? I have a better chance of beating her, with my.." Just then the goth noticed her bare finger. "Oh..right, damn Jacob." She was not so sure that she could take on Simone without the ring of fortune. "But since when are you courageous?" She asked him. "I came here to take care of her, remember? I gotta do something sometime." He activated his own dueldisk. "It wont matter, neither one of you can beat me."

Colins LP: 8000 Simone's LP: 8000

She drew five cards from her deck. "I have been buying cards since before I became part of Tumaga Inc, and with the allegiance of Outerdeck and my business, I collected for myself enough to build the fiercest decks in the dueling world." Colin just yawned. "So you wont mind if I go first?" He pulled out his cards. "Oh wait, wrong stack." He grinned and placed back his Tarot deck, accidentily dropping one card to the floor. Then he took out his duel monsters at last. "Here I go, draw!" He drew six cards. "_Tsch, what a hand, no Greed, no Golems, nothing._" He decided to play low for now. "I set a monster card facedown, and end my turn." Creed looked hardly impressed by this action. "Is this all boy?" She also drew, but her face had an expression of discomfort, she did not have 'it' yet. "You seem upset yourself." Cleo said with glee. "Thats because unlike cheaters like you, normal humans dont always draw trump cards on their first turn. You are lucky Colin, the Seal wont be activated yet...Instead, I will show you my theme."

"I normal summon a Venom Serpent(1000/800) in attack mode, and target your facedown monster" She called out a twoheaded green snake, which lashed out and bit Colins set card. "Ha! He can not chew that!" Yet the snake coiled backwards, as the Marshmallon (300/500) bounced face-up. It could not be killed in battke "That little thing." She cursed, as its effect activated and she lost 1000 LP. "Well I have just the cure for that." She entered her main phase 2, and activated a field spell card. "I set a trap card and then I activate: Venom Swamp." The holographic generators reacted to the card, and projected the image of a festering swampforest all over the hall. "What now?" And then to his dismay, he saw that Marshmallon was sinking into the red ooze. Its attackpoints were decreased somehow (0/500). "This is the power of Venom, Colin. In every endphase all monsters except venom monsters gain a venom-counter from the swamp, and certain Venom monsters can also inflict venom counters.

Simone's LP: 7000

The swamp then reduces their attack by 500 for every counter, and if it gets below zero, the monster dies." Marshmallon was completely swallowed by the swamp. "This is my deck, child, the Vennominaga deck." Her turn ended. "Venom counters huh, thats kinda bothersome. But you will have to summon something bigger then that small fry, if you want to impress me." He summoned a warrior to the field, wearing tattered clothes and bearing several scars. "Say hello to my beatdown card: Hunted Agent(2200/0). Its attack are high for a level 4, but when it is summoned, you can summon one monster from your hand." Simone glared at the card. "We have an agreement then." She called a three-eyes reptile: Venom Boa (1600/1200) from her hand in defense mode. "And now my agent slays your "Venom Serpent!" The first reptile was cut to pieces. "Hmmhmm, a small cost to pay. For now I will, as you say, chain my trap card." She smiled and flipped a continuous trap. "Damage equals Reptile!"

Simone's LP: 5800

_Hunted Agent **** 2200/0 Dark/Warrior  
You can not set this card. When this card is normal summoned, your opponent can special summon a monster card from his/her hand._

Colin flinched, that card reminded him of Jacksons trap card: Damage Equals Soul Energy. Only that was a normal trap, this effect was permanent. "When you damage me, I can summon a reptile from the deck that has just as many attackpoints or less." And while Colin did not think it was possible for her to call anything threatening with 1200 given damage, she did it anyway. "Venom Snake (1200/600) in attack mode." An dark snake with red stripes and a spiked tail showed up. "Exactly 1200 attackpoints, how nice. If you keep coming with these snakes, I will feel like I am in a bad B-movie." He moaned and ended his turn. Then at the end of his turn, the swamp took effect. "Oh bloody hell." Hunted Agent sank into the murky water, his feet were already gone (1700/0). "Great, it works during both endphases." Cleo cursed.

"Yeah thanks." Colin said sarcastically. "My turn." Simone drew. "Heh, also...my cards bare the name 'venom' for a reason." Suddenly the Boa leaped and bit the Hunted Agent. "What the? It is still stronger!" But then he saw that the snake had poisoned his agent, giving it two more venom counters. "My reptiles can make counters remember, Boa leaves two of them behind. But it has to skip its attack to do so.." This blow weakened the warriors resistance against the swamp, and he sank even further. (700/0) "And now for the coup de grace." Finally she sent Venom Snake for a normal attack, which killed off the monster for good. " I could also have killed your monster by only using venom counters. But the Snake also has to skip a battle phases if it makes venom. You would still stand in front of me, undamaged. I can not have that." She placed a trap and ended. "Gee thanks." He drew again, it was a Gilasaurus. He already had one of those actually. "Well then, if you like swarming, you get swarming."

Colins: 7500

A prophet monster was his next summon. "I normal summon Herald of Creation(1800/600), and then I use the effect of these two, and special summon two Gilasaurs(1400/400) from my hand." When the dinosaur appeared however, Simone's could revive the Venom Serpent (1000/800), his agent had killed. It was in defense position position, like the Boa. "I will flatten them all." The Herald attacked first, blowing up the Boa with her magic wand. "Hmmhmm, Trap Card: Snake Whistle. When a monster is destroyed as a result of battle, the whistle can call another lv.4 reptile from my deck." To the field came another Venom Snake (1200/600) in defense mode. "Stop that already!" Then the gilasaurs charged, they swallowed the offending Snake and the Serpent whole. The first blow inflicted 200 damage to her lifepoints. "Oho, chain again!" But now she could use the Damage trap. "What? There is a reptile with 200 or less then 200 attackpoints?" Indeed there was, the trap summoned a cobra, a Venom Cobra (100/2000). "Raging..."

Simone's LP: 5600

He had killed 3 snakes, but 2 new ones had been called out. "Fine. Go, use your turn!" The Swamp began to swallow the Gilasaurs (900/400) and the Creation mage (1300/600). "Not time yet." She looked at a card in her hand, but did not want to summon it. Instead she placed a trap facedown, and sent the other Venom Snake to attack and kill one of the Gilasaurs. "Oh thats it." The Gilasaur was as good as dead (400/400), so he tributed it along with the Herald (800/600). "I tribute summon Greed Quasar (2100/2100). Eat this!" Quasar opened its jaws, and tried to ensnare the Venom Snake. "Tsch, your fiend can not handle this taste." But she activated her trap, Ambush Fang. "This trap defends a Venom-monster and leaves behind a counter." The snake coiled around the claws, and sent a jet of venom into Greeds mouth. "What?" Now it too, was infested with the counters, and the swamp began to devour its body (1600/2100) "Oh come the hell on, that was just situational misfortune!" He growled. "I know I am going to win this!" Simone raised an eyebrow. "Why is that? I would love to hear your explanation." She mused, while glancing at the card in her hand. "What do you have that I cant overcome, hmm?" In her hand was Vennominion, the poison king.

On the upper levels, the silence was slowly dispelled by strange events from both the inside and the outside. "What the?" Ned looked up the camera screens, one by one they shut down. "Is this place losing power already?" He shook the screens but nothing happened. "We were not going to find Anima on one of these anyway, were we? The footage from before the system crash was erased.." Christine was not that worried about this loss. "I know my movies, and this kind of shutdown can not be good. If the power failure caused this, its awfully late, dont you think?" Another one went out. "Maybe the tower is conserving energy?" She suggested. "What, it can getting lazy? This place wasnt designed by Carter you know, allthough his brother might say otherwise. How am I supposed to access these files now?" He banged the computer in front of him, but brute force did not help. "Hey that one still works." One camera that was still showing images, it was the one placed in the conference room. "Wonder why."

There Carter guarded Simon Creed with his new gun. "He looks happy with his task."

Carter turned around, and stared into the corners of the conference room "What was that?" There was nothing. "You seem stressed." Simon gloated. "You would be too, I didnt get to sleep since the semifinals of the tournament." He pointed his gun back at the Creed sibling. "And you're not the best of company, I am beginning to regret my choice in tasks." He would say more, but then...

A sharp blow to the head stopped him. Actually it was a mental blow, delivered to the mind, by a certain rod. "Uhn, sleepy.." William collapsed, and started his slumber. "Heh, too easy." And from the shadows, Glyph came. "Oh, and who might you be?" He asked with a pleased tone, seeing the boy fall like that was the best entertainment he had this day. "I am shocked, you dont know me? Maybe your sister forgot to put a name to the face that brought down this place...I am Glyph." Then Creeds eyes widened, and he was less amused. "You..well what do you want?" He asked, as he began to sweat. "Negotiations. Kheheh."

(To be continued in Testament 056: The Inherited)

**New Card used by Colin Sairve**  
_Hunted Agent_

**Cards used by Simone Creed**  
Venom Serpent  
Venom Snake  
Venom Boa  
Venom Cobra

-  
Venom Swamp

-  
Damage equals Reptile  
Snake Whistle  
Ambush Fangs


	56. Testament 056: The Inherited

Testament 56: The Inherited

At that time, Nero awoke from his mental skirmish, and took a deep gasp of air to celebrate his victory, one which only he had seen. For the first time since days, had he felt free, completely free. Not even the smell of seawater could dampen his mood. "_Wait, how long was I out?" _He looked around, he was still in the train compartment, and he had not moved for who knows how long. "_Ggh, I have to get a move on. I still have to take care off her, Simone_." Unfortunately, there were no controls on this side of the train, and the other end was long gone. "_Damn, guess I have to run for it_." He got off the vehicle and was about to race down the tunnel, when he noticed something. "_Oh, the pieces.." _He saw that the Millenium puzzle had nearly been completed, with Cleo's and Ananka's fragments.

"I had just realized that." Sairve he started to grin. "I mean look at my credentials: Beat Ananka, beat Lydia, beat Mellany. Its my fate to beat ladies. Especially witch-types likes you..." Simone shook her head. "There are so many logical fallacies in that statement, I dont even know where to begin." She yawned. "Then I will play this!" He activated, the Rich get Richer. "This allows me to draw two cards, if I have a level 7 monster on the field." But neither card (Trade In and Star Level Shuffle) looked good right now. "Well then, Promotions!" He played the spell Promotion, leveling up his demon by 4 stars. "Your little snake wont kill my Greed now!" Greed gained 1200 attack and defense points (2800/3300). But in the end phase, the Swamp started to eat away at Quasar (2300/3300). But at least ot was stronger then her reptiles. "_Damn it, I knew you were getting in over your head_." Cleo said to herself, wishing that she could be the one to face this woman. "Oh?" Simone formed an expression that almost resembled a smile

_The Rich Get Richer, Normal Spell  
You can only activate this card if you control a level 7 or higher monster. Draw two cards from your deck._

"Little?" She played a card from her hand, which required the offering of her two monsters. "You can come out now, Vennominion!" In their place came a royal reptile. "Whoa whoa.." The King of Poisonous Snakes: Vennominion (0/0). "This monster, gains 500 attackpoints for each of its loyal servants, that have died this day." There were five reptiles in the grave right now. "This is why I didnt simply summon the king from my deck with Damage Equals Reptile, since his attack would be lower then it is right now." Vennominion hissed and surrounded itself with a toxic aura (2500/0) "It is not affected by the swamp either, the swamp only affects those that do not carry the poison. You reached your limit. It will only go down-hill from here." Vennominion killed the Quasar demon, shooting through its body with a stream of acid. She ended her turn after that. "I guess so.." Sairve sighed, and he drew his next card. "But I do not have any skills or enchantments..so I will have to rely on te future itself. I play the Spell card: Reasoning!"

Colins LP: 7000

Colin started picking up cards from his deck, until he found a monster. Simone was required to number that monster. "Reasoning, with me? Sounds amusing enough." She had to guess a level, and if the monster had that level. "Four seems obvious, my lucky number is six. Yet, I think with your deck, I will go for seven." She had selected, and now all depended on Colins draws. He picked up Marshmallon Glasses, Double Attack, Star Seizure and finally. "Heh, well at least Somone in the room is worse at predictions then I am. Its level eight, Ha!" He discarded the rest and special summoned his monster. "Level eight? A golem?" She remembered his deck from the tournament, and the only lv8 monsters he had were Golems. But those werent compatible with Reasoning. No, he summoned something that surprised even Cleo. "Thats..her card!" He had called Arcana Force XXI, The World (3100/3100), the time ruling angel. "I know, its an Arcana from Ananka. I wanted to honor her, not let her cards go to waste. At least this way..." The World charged energy. "It will be like she still helped in taking this woman down, two fortune tellers against one!" Then his monster unleashed beams that reduced Vennominion to a smouldering puddle of snake goo.

Simone's LP: 5000

"And if she hates me for it, fine by me, I never listened to her anyway." He concluded his attack. "Ggh, Arcana, never expected a set that Marcus created to haunt me." She hissed, as The World was done smushing her Minion. "Hey, did you even check what effect it has? Faced up or Down?" Cleo yelled at him for being to hasty. "Does it matter?" He looked anyway, and saw that the Arcana was facing her way, so its positive effect was active. "Heh, good." However two things dampened his mood. First, the swamp also began to corrupt his monster (2600/3100), and secondly.. "Wait, its still moving?" To their mutual dismay, Vennominion twitched and bulged back into a normal shape, regenerating so to speak. "You thought it was over, nothing is that shortlived, except for hope." The King was now fully revived, yet it was weaker (2000/0). "I can remove one snake in the cemetery from play, to bring back my monster. Only if its killed in battle though." So every time it died, it lost a bit of its power.

"Also thanks to Damage Equals Reptile, I get to summon again" She had taken 600 damage, so she called a second Venom Cobra (100/2000) in defense mode. "Regenerator huh." He then placed a monster in facedown defense mode. "Unfortunately, I can not match your inherited power, not yet." Instead she placed a trap down, that was it for her turn. "Draw!" His monster weakened once more (2100/3100) and he drew another Arcana card, but this one he could use. "I play Trade In!" He discarded the Arcana, which was a lv8 monster, to draw two new cards: Fusilier and Giant Trunade. "Simone, your venom counters only work as long as the field is active right?" She nodded. "Then, I normal summon Fusilier the Dual Mode Beast (1400/2000) and flip summon Divine Machine Lord Ür (1600/0)" The girls wondered where this would lead. "And now this!" He activated the Trunade spell, to blow all spells and traps back to the players hand. "!" Her field was removed, and the counters no longer weakened The World (3100/3100).

"Ah. I see it now. Your plan is so straight forward." She placed her hands on the traps as they were about return to her hand. "You will send Force XXI to attack first. Reducing Vennominion by 500 again, after that you the Machine Lord can kill it, and then Fusilier. In the end, he would be so weak, he cant even regenerate anymore. It is so clear, and so...avoidable." Her first trap activated, Generation Shift. "This card sacrifices a monster and adds another to my hand." She destroyed her own Venom Cobra, to draw the third from her deck. With another reptile in the cemetery, Vennominion powered up again (2500/0) "Now your Machine Lord cant follow The World in battle." She also flipped her second trap "Venom Burn." Before that card was sent away too. "This inflicts 700 damage to the opponent for all the venom his monster carries. If those counters dont do me any good, I might as well discard them" The two counters were removed from the Arcana and acid splashed on his masters arm. "Gaaah, you..."

Colins LP: 5400

"This stings, you almost burned my skin.. But two can play the pain game!" He attacked with the World, killing the Poisonous Lord all over again. Naturally it healed quickly (2000/0). "Ha! Did you forget what her strongest Arcana can do? Hey Cleo, she beat you with it didnt she?" He shouted back. "Why remind me?" He sacrificed Fusilier and Ür for The Worlds effect. "Guess what Simone, your next turn is now skipped! All you can do is draw a card, oh wait...no, not even that!." He chuckled. "I see, quite bothersome." Since her turn was skipped, Colin could attack once more. "Time to die, Vennominion, again." The World fired its beams at the Poisonous Snake ruler, decimating it a second time. "Bothersome indeed, I guess you under-estimated me." Even though he resorted to using another fortune tellers cards, it felt like the future favored him at last. "You misunderstood, its not your opposition that bothers me. Its your naivety." She rasped, as her Venom King regenerated again (1500/0).

Simone's LP: 3300

"Seeing that young hope-filled face of yours is unbecoming, ugly even." Then it was her turn again. "Damn it, stop calling me young!" He grunted. "But you are young, young of mind. I run a multi-national business, what do you do for a living?" She looked dead serious, but he did not seem to notice. "Well I..." He started to talk, but she stopped him. "Silence! I didnt ask for your mundane lifestory. It was a rhetorical question, rhetorical!" She fumed. "I only wanted you to know how much effort you are trying to ruin, what you are up against. Not even death can stop us you know, it did not stop our father." She drew a card. "Oh yes the radio-active casualty." Cleo smiled. "If Orichalcum is so deadly, why do you use it in the first place?" She asked. "Feh" Creed ignored that question, and continued with her story. "Yes my father was dying, thats why he adopted us in the first place. When he found out that the Orichalcum he found, that it was killing him, he started a search for an heir."

"He went by one orphanage after another, special orphanages that had special children." While she spoke, she returned the Venom Swamp to the field slot in her disk. "Like you, I presume. Dont tell me, you played a game to catch his attention." The goth moaned. "You understand fast, yes we were special, yes we never knew our real parents. But no we didnt have to fight for his recognition. He did not choose me and Simon, because of our intelligence or skill. As far as the institute was concerned, we were only moderrately brilliant." She began to laugh, very softly. "He did it because we hated each other, and everyone else in that place. He saw our sibling rivalry, and knew that he could turn it into a powerful tool, one of hatred and revenge." She placed two trap cards facedown as well. "From that day on he educated us to struggle for the crown of his company, never choosing sides. Simon and I, in the end neither could accept the throne. He died before he declared an official succesor, so we shared Tumaga instead.

"Of course, I still think I would have won. This game we play right now, is a childrens trial, compared to what he put me through. Thats why you are young, compared to me." She then played a spell card. "And I have had enough of your juvenile resistance. Spell card, Venom Shot: I discard a reptile from my deck to give your monster two venom counters." Suddenly, another snake came from her deck, a Bitelon "Hey!" It sprayed poison on The World (2100/3100), and then it was sent to the grave. "The counters once again weaken your side, and Bitelons demise strengthens my King (2000/0). End turn." And during the endphase The World weakened once more (1600/3100). _"Why wont she give up."_ Caine thought, snakes were never favorite kind of monsters. "Okay, I think I have seen enough." He played a spell card. "Star Level Shuffle, I shift one monster on my field, with another in the grave. With equal levels of course!" Thus he exchanged the depowered The World for another Arcana. "I discarded this one earlier, for Trade In. Heh."

"I summon The Devil!" The eyeball-sickle demon (2500/2500) was what replaced his mechanic predecessor, both were of the eight level. "That thing again." Cleo did remember that one, Ananka used it in their duel. "This card kills another monster when it declares an attack, after it inflicts 500 damage." He smirked and declared an attack on Vennominion, The Devil activated his effect and one scythe cut against Simone's shoulder. "You can not regenerate if I kill you outside of battle, ey kingie?" The second scythe decapitated the King. "Its an effect-death!" The third scythe came for her again, and then she laughed. "Fool. I activate Rise of the Snake Deity!" She chained with a trap card, and a pale light intercepted The Devil. "Now what?" Then from the swamp, a new being emerged, a woman coiled up in serpents. "When you destroy Vennominion with a card effect, this trap card special summons the Queen: Vennominaga, God of Poison (0/0)!" Even her hair was made of snakes, like a Medusa.

Simone's LP: 2800

"Where the hell did this come from?" A red glow surrounded the snake queen. "This card has the same powers of Vennominion, and now there are five reptiles in the graveyard." The Naga boosted herself with the energy of her servants (2500/0) "Our attackpower is equal, would you like to attack me still?" She smirked. "I think not... I bet that Naga has regeneration as well, if she has all of the Minions powers." Simone was all to pleased to hear that. "Finally, the end nears." She drew again, and her face contorted with a malicious glee. "And now its a fact, you will die." She played the most haunting card in existence, The Seal of Orichalcos. "Uh crap." The green seal encircled the two players, shutting out Cleo. At the same time, Venom Swamp shattered and disappeared from the hall. Orichalcos powered up Vennominaga (3000/0), the seal appearing on her forehead. "And if you still do not see what your fate shall be..allow me. I will make you a happy seer, you get to know your future, what will kill you... I will."

(To be continued in Testament 057: No Cure for Hypervenom)

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve**  
Arcana Force XXI The World  
Machine Lord Ür  
_Arcana Force XV The Devil_

-  
_The Rich Get Richer_  
Reasoning  
Giant Trunade

**New Cards used by Simone Creed**  
Bitelon  
Vennominion, Lord of Poisonous Snakes  
Vennominaga, the Deity of Poisonous Snakes

-  
Venom Shot  
Seal of Orichalcos

-  
Generation Shift  
Venom Burn  
Rise of the Snake Deity


	57. Testament 057: No Cure for Hypervenom

Testament 57: No Cure for HyperVenom

While Glyph had a conversation with Simon, the tower descended into chaos. One system after another was turned off, reserve power ran dry. Yet in the middle of this mayhem, a new variable was added to the equation. A second zeppelin slowly hovered towards Tower 0013, but nobody knew who was on board, since communication was down. It could have been an ally or an enemy.

Vennominaga attacked, and the acid which melted XV to the bone in an instant. "Huh, whats that?" Suddenly a new pain arrived, he noticed a scar on his right arm. "Vennominaga has more powers, Colin, for one thing, she is immune against any and all effects. Even bouncing and controlling." He gasped, how was he supposed to kill it? "And even better, every time she damages you, she gets a HyperVenom Counter. And if you carry three of her scars, you will lose...as you say, game-over. This is why fate is absolute, death in three bites. You can do nothing against this." She ended her turn. "Ha! The joke's on you! You cant even see these scars behind my red robes." He joked, which made her glare at him in response. "Not a friend of comedy I see." Then again maybe now was not the time to kid around. He placed a monster card facedown and two traps. Just then someone came running down the corridor, and entered the hall in a worn down state. "Nero?" They were surprised to see him. "Or Jacob?"

Colins LP: 4900

Cleo even immediately assumed the worst. "No, he is..gone." He wheezed, he had to run all the way down the tunnel, it was quite exhausting. "You are here too? Quite late as well." Simone smiled, until she saw what he carried with him. "The puzzle?" He had completed the puzzle along the way, well almost..some pieces were still missing. "I see, so some of the millenium piece-holders were at the tournament after all." At least it had done some good. "Millenium pieces, how much do you know?" Cleo asked the woman. "I wont share precious information, not just like that, miss Caine. You can ask after I defeat this boy." Nero then noticed the green light surrounding them. "What? He is in the seal now, but his soul will be stolen!" Nero yelled. "I know that, but it wont bring me down. I have Ananka by my side, remember?" But Simone entered her turn, and Vennominaga sent one of her snake-hands to strangle Colins facedown machine, a Radio Jammer (1000/1000) to death.

_Radio Jammer, 3/1000/1000 Light/Machine  
__Monsters with a level equal to this monster's level cannot attack. During your standby phase, you may pay 500 life points and select a monster on the field, this monster's level becomes the same as the selected monster card._

"So helpful that name is, feh." She sneered. "Tsch. At the very least you can not create more of those counters, if I keep my monsters in defense mode." He frowned. "True enough. However nothing in your deck can kill Vennominaga, your future is still the same: Death by a gods poison." She placed a trap card facedown, and ended her turn. "Suit of Cups!" And it revolved into a faced-up position. "Yes, I can draw five new cards!" She cringed, as he drew those cards from his deck. "Uncanny luck, wouldn't you agree?" And with all these new cards, he began to form many plans. "How pointless, trying to counter my Deity-class card with more cards. It will never work." Creed was not impressed. "Hey I will do the predicting here. Me seer, you corrupt industrialist. And its time for my grand supreme final act!" He activated his facedown trap card, Level Conversion Lab. It changed the level of a monster in his hand. "I convert the level of Arcana Force XVII The Star, its name suits my deck very well, doesnt it?"

He threw his dice, and it landed on a 3. Se he could normal summon, the 3-starred Star (2700/2700) "Whats that going to do, its weaker then my goddess." She claimed. "Oh you will see.." He then activated his other facedown. It was the spell card, Starstorm. "Right now there are 13 stars on the field, so this spell will inflict 100 X 20 = 1300 damage to your life!" He summoned a tempest of shining stars, to hit the woman directly. "If you can not hurt my queen, you will hurt me..is that it? Sorry to say it, but that wont work against me: I chain with Snake Deity's Command" She activated a Counter Trap, which doused the incoming stars with acid. "By showing the opponent one Venom-card in my hand, I can negate any spell or trap." She revealed the one card in her hand: the Venom Cobra she had added earlier with Generation Shift.

"I see, thats why you kept it close to you. However..now that I know whats in your hand, I can do this!" The Star created an energy blast of its own, shaped like a star, and fired it at Vennominaga. "I can choose a card in your hand, and if I guess correctly, my monster gets stronger!" Of course she only had one card in her hand. "Monster card!" Venom Cobra. The Star gained a thousand points (3700/2700) and killed her Naga at last. "You did notice that you are getting faced-up positions all the time, right?" Cleo commented. "I guess so, I must be a better Arcana user then Ananka." He laughed. "What is so amusing, Sairve, you have not won yet." Unfortunately, Vennominaga regenerated her wounds, removed a reptile in the cemetery from play and returned to her normal shape (2500/0) "Damn, I forgot that." He sighed, he would have won too, if it werent for her counter trap. "I think we have seen enough stars today, I never did care much for outer space." And then Damage Equals Reptile re-activated.

Simone's LP: 2100

She received 700 damage, so she could summon a reptile with 700 or less attackpoints. "Cobra Jar (600/300) come to me." She summoned the snake in jar, empowered by the seal (1100/800). And it was summoned to the spell zone. Thanks to the Seal it could remain in the backrow, defended by the massive body of the Naga. "Keep your eyes on the ground, on the real world, and the oceans. Thats what I'd say." She drew a spell and activated it. "Snake Rain: this spell discards a snake from my hand, and four more from my deck!" She threw away the Venom Cobra, along with four reptiles from her deck (Venom Boa, Serpentine Princess and two more Venom Serpents). The aura of the snake god grew more immense with every sacrifice, five snakes meant 2500 attackpoints (5000/0). "Kill it." She quickly offed Arcana XVII, procuding a new HyperVenom Counter, the first was lost during the regeneration process. "Then a direct hit from the Cobra Jar!" The cobra bit him in the leg and retreated.

Colins LP: 1500

Colin looked more desperate. He had drawn so many cards, but still nothing worked. "I set a monster and a trap card." He was running low on cards. "Such a shortlasting spectacle. Seer." And in her turn she could easily kill anything. Vennominaga destroyed his facedown Blockman (1000/1500). "More like a montage of your selfdestruction. You challenged me, and now you see how worthless your hope was." And the Cobra Jar gave him another direct attack. "Still thinking that your prediction can come true?" She was done with her turn. "Well maybe." He drew again, and his eyes widened. Hope returned in the form of a fiery golem. "But even your monster is not immune to all my cards, Simone. I summon this card, Lava Golem! Your god is protected against effects, but not against sacrifice. It can still be tributed, even for a Golem!" The others were stunned, the one card that could stop Vennominaga, and it was in his deck! "Ha, and..wait." But he was shocked to see, that his disk refused to accept the card.

"Colin, her trap!" Nero pointed at a ghoulish Mask thet stood behind her. "N-no way..Mask of Restrict?" And she started to cackle. "Of course. Did you think I would not have some added insurance against Lava Golem? I have seen that trick before, I have seen all those tricks, and none of them can touch me." With the Mask active, he could not tribute anything. "Then I will use my trap Ojama Trio!" Ojama Black, Green and Yellow tokens showed up on Simone's field (500/1500). "And that is for this spell, Star of Oblivion, if there are 18 levels on the field, I can blow up everything!" Vennominaga (10), Cobra (2) and Ojama (3 X 2) counted for 20 stars total, so the Oblivion Star wiped out the dueling field. At least it tried too, the tokens, Mask and Cobra Jar all died. And since the tokens were destroyed, she lost 900 lifepoints as well. Alas Vennominaga shrugged the blast off as if it was nothing. The Seal or Orichalcos was not affected either,since it was spell speed 4. "Nothing works." He cursed softly.

Simone's LP: 1100

_The Star of Oblivion, Normal Spell  
__You can only activate this card if the combined level of all face-up monsters on the field is 18 or higher. Destroy all cards on the field._

All he could do was place one card facedown, his trump card: Dora of Fate. "Finally, you realize it. But just to draw a clearer image... SIM!" She called out to her AI-assistant. "**Yes madam**" He responded, startling the three gamers. "That thing is here too?" His voice came from a nearby sound receiver. "How much time, until the satellite reaches the tower?" She asked with glee. "**Ten minutes**" And they responded with dismay. They had that little time left, they couldnt save everyone in that amount of minutes!" So you see, all your efforts were for nothing, you never had a chance." A screaming Vennominaga absorbed the soul of the obliterated Cobra (5500/0) and attacked Sairve directly. "No!" He however discarded Arcana XIV, The Temperance from his hand, to negate the damage. The spirit of Temperance took the blow for him. "You keep asking me to punish you, you should know when to quit. You can not beat me, let alone in 10 minutes." She ended her turn again. "You keep saying that...but I..." He drew his card, but in his hurry he accidentily dropped it."Gah, not now!" He picked it up, and saw another card lying on the floor, which he picked up as well. "Wait this is not my card, or hers..what is..."

And before he could figure out what was happening, a bright flash blinded him. "Hey!" At the same time, the Millenium Puzzle began to tremble in Nero's hands, next it started to glow. "What is it doing?" But they did not realize that this strange action was connected to what happened to Colin. "Whoa!" To him, the green light of the Orichalcos Seal was replaced by a more blissful color. He was still in the same place, but..there was air, air that he could smell. "_Hey, what is this, where am I now?" _He flinched. _"Wait, can this be...Atlantis too? The city.. in the past?"_ The hall was the same, the gate was the same, even the giant dome in the background was the same. "_Okay this is trippy." _Colin looked around, and all he saw was the same city, no longer buried under the ocean. Nobody else was here anymore, his friends, Simone, all gone. "_Maybe I died, and this is heaven? Or maybe its just a dream." _He wondered, he pinched himself to make sure. "Ow.." It definitely hurt. "_Well that doesn't tell me much." _

Just then a shadow swooped by. "Whoah." He turned around, but the figure was already gone. "The hell is going on, can't someone explain! Anybody!" His cries echoed over the desolated city, in return he received silence. "Crud." He was about to explore the city in its current state, when two more shadows flew by him, knocking him to the ground. "Agh, I dont like this visionwhatever anymore." As he crawled up, he saw another. "Finally.. Hey!" He raised his hand to get his/her attention, but the stranger walked away from him. "_And now I have to run, gah_." He went after her, taking several twists and turns, going beyond the gate that Simone was guarding. He noticed differences in the city as well, it was still in good shape and quite modern. The green crystal in the center of Atlantis was gone as well. "There you are!" At last he caught up, as his runaway stopped near a fountain. They were in the middle of some strange temple now. His/her face was concealed by black robes. "Look, I dont want to hurt you, but I."

However he caught a glimpse of her face, and he was shocked. "Wait.. it is you?" He fell backwards, against a pedestal. "Take it." The stranger then pointed behind him, and he looked up. "What do you..want?" He saw a pedestal, and three shadows stood on top of it. But they were not people as he feared, they were objects. "Take that?" He got up, but she was gone again. "Figures..." He now saw what was behind him, three swords, four openings. He tried to reach for one, but as he touched the hilt with one finger. "Ah!" He caught more visions, glimpses of beasts, falling stars, and flying dragons. It was a little bit too much, especially since he tried to focus on the face he had seen. "It can not have been here.. she is." And then he snapped back to reality. "Whoa..."

He spent a good minute staring at the ceiling. "Did any of you, just have a strange dream?" He said to himself, the others just stared at him. "Are you going to play your turn through? Or can I just finish you now!" Simone rasped. "Huh? Oh...right... yeah lets finish this, Simone."

(To be continued in Testament 058: Pandora's Box)

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve  
**_Arcana Force XVII The Star_  
_Radio Jammer_  
_Arcana Force XIV Temperance_

_-_  
_Suit of Cups_  
_Star of Oblivion_

**New Cards used by Simone Creed  
**Cobra Jar  
Serpentine Princess

-  
Snake Rain

-  
Command of the Snake Deity  
Mask of Restrict


	58. Testament 058: Pandora's Box

Testament 058: Pandora's Box

"Damn it, why didnt Carter respond to my call? We have to leave now!" Ned shouted to himself, as he rushed down the stairs towards the conference room. One light after another turned back on. Whatever had taken down the towers energy system, it was no longer in effect "But what about the others?" Rose asked. "We need to get out of here, we have five minutes! We can only assume that Nero & Co failed, and that we need to reach a safe area...somehow." They reached the room at last, but the doors were wide-open. "What the, whats going on?" And inside the room they could see a man that they were not familiar with, while Carter lied unconscious on the floor. An old man, that had freed Simon, and seemed to be friends with. "Who are you?" Christine got upset and demanded an answer. "Why, I am Simons new business partner, isn't that right?" He asked the Creed sibling. "Indeed, mr. Glyph, indeed." He was equally smug with their new arrangement. "Glyph?" They remembered that name. "You are the man that pursued Cleo, and the one that helped Jacob?" She gasped. "Ggh, we dont have time for this, dont you two know that? The satellite is coming!" Ned added loudly. "We know..but we dont fear it..anymore." Creed smirked.

Colins behavior very confusing for the others, he had only been gone for 1 second, but he definitely spent a few minutes inside the 'other' atlantis. "And are you sure you did not see it either?" He asked again anyway. "Have you gone insane?" Cleo hissed, she did not feel very patient right now. "Really now, Colin, trying to stall your demise? Even if you wait for death, the fate of your friends is already sealed. Get it? Sealed, ohohoho! I crack me up" Simone cackled. "Yeah I get it...." He finally looked at the card in his hand, and narrowed his eyes. "This is.." It was a card he had never seen before, in fact it was a whole new type of card, a blue-colored effectless card. The only information on it was a dragons head, and its stats. "I really dont get this, it looks like the thing I saw in my vison. Might as well play it. I am dead if I dont continue".. He sighed and place it into his dueldisk. "I should have listened to myself, but no I had to go on an adventure to save people...damn it Colin, damn...huh?"

"Whats that?" The other three were shocked, the ceiling was filled with smoke. "How can this.." No ordinary holographic smoke, actual dust filled the hall. And two eyes glowed in its midsts. "...that thing!" A creature emerged, a huge black dragon. It hovered in the air above Colin, as if it was his monster card. "When did you get that?" Nero was in awe, Cleo was speechless, Simone nearly trembled. "Hell if I know, I just randomly took some cards from Ananka's deck, this must have been one of them." But it was certainly not an Arcana card, so he was not sure. "Wait it..asks me.." His disk reacted to the new card, the display that usually only calculated lifepoints, now provided him with new information. There were only two words: Trap Integration. "Traps huh? I have no idea what that means, but.."

He only had one on the field, so he shrugged and activated it. "Lets do this." He activated Dora of Fate, integrating it with this dragon. The two cards combined in a sphere of light. "My word..." And that was when its powers became clear, this dragon could fuse..with trap cards. "Wait, Marcus's company never made that card!" Simone protested, worried about what was to come. "Even so, your dueling technology recognizes it, the disk did not reject this card. It must be.." From the light a new dragon appeared, one that had silver plating, fiery black spikes and several star-shaped scars over its body. It finally had its own stats and effect (2800/2600) "Well well, it has a name too. Allow me to introduce Pandora: Dragon of Destiny!" It roared and set its sights upon the Poison God. "Meh, whatever it is, it still cant beat my Vennominaga (5500/0)." But she noticed Colin was smiling too. "Its effect.. .Is an integration of Dora of Fate. Do you remember what Dora of Fate does? You should, you know every little obscure detail."

_Pandora, Dragon of Destiny ******** 2800/2600 Light/Dragon/Fusion  
[Dora of Fate] + [??????]  
When this card attacks, increase this cards attackpoints by 500 for every level of all monster cards on the field (except for this card)._

"In simple terms: Pandora absorbs the power that 'Dora' would normally use for effect damage. Times the level of a monster that opposes it. Your queen has ten stars.." The dragons body started to glow, ten of its scars became bloodred. "It gains 500 times 10, thats 5000 attackpoints. And it does not matter if your queen of snakes is immortal or not, her user is still dependant on lifeforce. This blow will take you down!" Then his dragon (7800/2600) released several beams of golden energy, from all over its body. "Scream of Chaos!" The lines spread out and connected to form a box, which surrounded both Vennominaga and Simone. "NO!" They both received the attack, as the box collapsed all over them. Sealing them inside like a coffin. Vennominaga regenerated, but Simone took 2300 damage. "No.." She emerged from the box, slumped to the floor. The holograms faded, and the Seal of Orichalcos followed. The green light encircled her. "The seal always takes a sacrifice. Even one of us..."

Simone's LP: 0

She cursed her fate, it was her spirit which would be taken away. "How did you do ..how did you get that dragon?" Somehow it felt so familiar to her. Perhaps it resembled some of the images on the mural illustrations in this city. "I wish I knew, I think some help from beyond did the trick." He remembered that womans face once more. "I saw a face that wanted my prediction to come true...for once." That answer did not satisfy the woman, who suddenly reached her heart. "Gah, this will not stop me, you shall still die.. Like my father before me, I will gladly give up my life for the sake of Orichalcos." The seal got closer and closer "I just hope my brother does not screw..up." Then there was one last flash, and the green light faded at last. Her body collapses, and her soul was claimed. "He won?" Cleo blinked, she could not believe what she saw. Compared to his good luck, her manipulation of cards was almost.. tame. "Guys, we still need to stop the satellite!" Nero yelled. "I know, I know, and.."

"Hold it..whats that thing doing?" Colin pointed at the large green crystal in the center of the underwater city, the one that was not there in the past. "Its glowing again, that must mean...its Orichalcum?" It was absorbing a new soul, Simone joined with the large collective inside the crystal. "Then if we shatter that, everyone who was absorbed will once again be free!" Nero cheered. "Breaking that big thing, does sound like fun." Cleo smirked. Now the question was, how to get there? The gate had closed behind Simone, and SIM probably would not open up. "?" Actually another matter needed to be solved first.

"Why is this place filling with water?" Suddenly they noticed that the floor had become moist, and water came in from the halls. "Oh no, do not tell me." They did not know but expected that Simone programmed the tunnels to be flooded in case of her defeat. And so it was, SIM could no longer register her heartbeat, so it decided to flood the hall compartment, sealing off all exists at the same time. "Oh this is bull, we win, and we still have to die?" Sairve started to panic again, there was no way they could reach the train in time. "We have to try!" They rushed towards the exit, but the door was already closed. "No! We cant..we cant go down like this!" Colin desperately banged on the door, trying to break it open "Damn it, Damn it!" . The others helped of course, but he was most frantic at it. "Its no use, we're trapped." Nero was the first to give up. "All because of that sore loser whench, I hate this!" Cleo rasped and stopped as well. "Tsch, I wont let this happen. Give me that puzzle, gold is strong, maybe it can dent this door!"

Sairve was clearly not thinking straight. "Its a puzzle, idiot, it will shatter before you even.." He grabbed it anyway. "Don't care, I..hey" But he dropped the thing, when it started to vibrate in his hands. "Whats its problem now?" It was clearly moving, splashing along the floor. "I have no idea." Nero picked it up from the water, which was now half-way to the top. "It did this before actually, right before you drew that dragon card." Colin flinched. "It did?" He looked at his dueldisk, which he could barely keep dry under the current situation. "You mean this?" He pulled out his strange blue dragon card, and it reacted to the Puzzle too. "Now is not the time for solving mysteries, we will die here!" The goth hissed, and tried to put the card away. "Wait, I think it's doing..that again.." Colin gasped, as a light came from both the card and the puzzle. "Doing what? Why wont anybody tell me what is going on!" And in a brilliant flash, the entire tunnel seemingly exploded. "Wait wait wait.." Erasing the players from sight.

They were still alive, and the sequences that followed was quite lucid. The moment they were enveloped in the dragons radiance, they were transported to a slideshow of things thay had never witnessed before. They shifted from scenes of modern war to ancient wars, industry to medieval times, skyscrapers and castles. It was almost as if they were following a timeline, they saw one ancient civilisation after the other, culminating in flashes of Egyptian cities, Pharaohs and Temples. But the last thing they saw, before the journey ended, were three figures. The first was a still shot of three swords, the second was that of a pyramid against the setting sun, and the final shot revealed the same darkrobed human that Colin had seen in his vision. The latter figure approached them, and Sairve once again recognized her face. "I know you." It was a gentle face, a familiar feeling. "Ananka!" Then she disappeared, leaving him alone once more. After that the sequence broke down like a glass window, and they were...somewhere else..

Not every moment of this event was unseen. For reasons unknown, SIM kept its camaras active during the whole ordeal, and at the same time it buried the recordings under a mountain of personal data. It was a blurry set of images, yet one very clear frame revealed a startling figure. The shining form of a dragon illuminated the hallway, as if someone had fired some very detailed fireworks. This light was what carried the children away from the flooded room, leaving only Simone's body to rot. It resembled the shape of the monster used by Colin during his duel against Simone. Only she would now have to drown in the torrents she programmed to be released. S.I.M. did not mourn its masters death, it only stated and then noted down one specific word in its log. This word was not found by Tumaga inc either. "Critias.."

And then the doors opened again, a good few hours later. It took some time to drain the tunnels once they were saturated with water. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" The first one to enter the place was the playful street mage, who had been in a good mood since his conversation with Simon. He was followed by several re-activated Orichalcos cyborgs. "There is nobody here sir, nobody alive." They scanned the room, and all they could find was Simone's corpse. "I can see that, that doesn't explain..where those kids went?" They were locked in, and yet they escaped, and there was no sign of struggle or damage. Yet there was one other item in this hall, besides a former Tumaga leader. "Hang on, whats this?" He picked up the Millenium Puzzle, which was left behind all alone. "Well I'll be, those children built the puzzle for me, how nice." He pulled some items out of his pockets. Turns out that he'd collected his own pieces over the years. "I wonder if they had enough to complete the set." He laughed as he started on finishing the puzzle, as far as it was possible. "Hmm. If this thing is here, then..perhaps." He started to get an idea about what actually happened. "But..I am still missing one piece...tsch. I wonder who has the last."

(To be continued in Testament 059: Omega Duelists)


	59. Testament 059: Omega Duelists

Testament 059: Omega Duelists

"What did we just see?" The first moment back was a bit disorienting, but they recovered eventually. The seer was the first to get up. 'Blargh!" Colin celebrated his return by vomiting on the pavement. "Urp, I will never go through that again." He wiped his mouth. "Nice, real nice." Cleo was second, and Nero woke up last. "Where are we?" He looked around, this place was kinda familiar. They were in a dark alley, surrounded by trash cans. "Not in Atlantis at least, nor underwater. Thats a relief." Cleo sighed and got up. "Just what exactly did happen?" Nero looked back at the puzzle in his hands, except it was no longer there. "_It got left behind?" _That one was claimed by Glyph already. "All I remember was that this thing started glowing, and then came all those images." The others nodded. "Yeah we all saw those. Some more then others." There was one image who took up a lot more airtime. It must have seemed like an eternity to them. "_I saw Ananka I think... but also_...I saw a man."

After every vision related to the sun, a pyramid and a city in the middle of the desert, the same person was shown. An obscured figure seated on a throne, surrounded by six guards. His facial features were clouded by the mask he wore, but there was no mistaking it, he was a Pharaoh. "You are not suggesting that..." They all stared down now. "I feel that someone else is inside the puzzle. A second presence grew stronger as more pieces were added." Of course right now there was no way to verify that. "The dragon you think?" Colin pulled the card out again, it was still nameless, and it had the image of the dark dragon on it. "No, not that one, stupid. A man, not a beast." Caine hissed. "Well excuse me for still being disoriented. I got too confused by other images. Because I saw a very strange world." They could agree to that as well. Another horrofying glimpse was that of a wasteland, dried up oceans and smouldering cities. "Does not take a seer to predict what happened to the planet, we saw the past _and_ the future."

A cold wind started to blow across the field "Ehr.. We will talk about that later. We need to get our bearings straight. The puzzle saved us, that much is clear. The question is not how, but where did it send us?" They

came out at a different location, but it was not the tower. "Did we travel space as well as time?" The concept was still to vague for her to be rational. "Well maybe its because of the earths rotation, or maybe going back into time is different from going forward? If we even did go through time, instead of just seeing stuff." It still didnt make a lot of sense. "We cant explain what happened, lets not even try." Sairve rasped and started moving. "We're obviously in another town, lets just go to the streets and ask around." He left the alley and found a street nearby. However he was quickly surprised by the lack of things he expected to see. Specifically, there were no citizens, no living ones anyway. "Okay, I think I solved one question. I know where we are, now I wonder when we are!" He was surrounded by bodies.

"This place is.." They recognized it at last. "Yeah our dueling stage, we're back at the tournament city." They turned a few corners, and right there in the background was a large dome, their arena. "Then these must be." Nero checked one of the motionless men, he felt a pulse. "They aren't dead! They're just in a coma.. Their souls must have been stolen by the satellite!" So at the very least they were not to far in the past. "Damn, if we had come back earlier, we would have been able to warn all these people." He moaned. "There seem to be less people then I expected though. Did they take some to the hospital already?" Neor wondered. "What and leave half behind? What kind of medical team works like that!?" The answer was not a good one. "Tum'aga's medical team. I reckon. With that satellite no place is secure." And all these souls were now in Atlantis. "Ugh we got so close to whatever Tum'aga was hiding in that city. Now we are all the way here.... Why do they steal so many souls god damn it! "

"Now is not the time to feel sorry for things that already happened. We need to think fo what we will do now. Come on, follow me. Lets find some newspapers." He figured that that was the best way to check for information, like what day it was. "Wait, who made you the leader?" Cleo hissed. "I did. Heh.. Hey it was me that beat Simone." He smirked, showing off his Dragon card again. "With the worst kind of help ever." She fumed and followed him with reluctance. "Doesn't this place have an internet cafe? That Ned Zoro kid spent his time there a lot at least." She looked around as well. "Paper first, then internet. I doubt the latter is even online right about, unless they fixed the connections." He walked up to a news-stand, the owner of which had been soul drained as well. "You don't mind do you?" He swiped one and checked the date. "That can't be right, this is yesterdays newspaper!" Caine just smiled. "Obviously, its hard to sell news when you're braindead. They have not restocked for god knows how long."

"Now we will go with my idea." She turned around and went to the online shop. "Why does the female kind hate me so?" He sulked. But her journey into the arena was just as unrewarding, since all computers were offline. And Cleo was too intimidating to allow Colin a 'I told you so'. "Technology is worthless, these things cant even turn on!" She banged the device until it shorted out. "Ehr guys." Nero, who stayed silent until now, pointed at another shop. "The TV does not work either." Behind the buildings fron window, a row of television sets were shown, which in turn showed nothing but static. Even the plasma screens were out of order. "Damn, its like some kind of signal is blocking all the technology. I wish that Ned were her to explain all this." It was like this all over town. "I wish I knew where they were to begin with. How long has it been since we left them behind in tower 0013. Did they leave before Simone's satellite got to them? If only someone could answer us." Jacobus cursed.

And his curse was not unheard.

The 'eye in the sky' was still watching, SIMs satellite had been tracking the city for days reported any events that occured after the trial run of the Orichalcos beam. And now it spotted a uncalculated increase in soul level, inside the city itself. The readings were similar to those recorded back at Atlantis, when the three duelists avoided death by drowning. Indeed the data revealed that three entities had suddenly manifested on square 52B of the towns grid. In case of such events, it would treat them like anyn other survivors. "**Pursue and eliminate**" The AI droned and started its alignment with its targets.

"Well, finally...some help." The gamers found a large clocktower inside the desolated arena. This clock was powered by solar energy, and told more then just hours and minutes. "Two days, we have been gone two whole days." Nero gasped. "Could have been worse." Caine added. "Yes, but that means we cant waste time anymore. We need to think fo what we are going to do, to stop that haunting nightmare of a world from ever becoming a reality." He did not even know where to begin. "Well we can't fight against a massive business like Tum'aga on our own." Cleo said. "And we dont have any more of those enchanted items." Colin had an answer for that. "Well, we do have this!" He revealed his blue dragon-card again. "Yeah thats pretty and all. But what good will it do against a satellite that can just steal our souls without a fight?" He didnt have an answer for that. "Huh? But just then, they heard another sound. "What?" It came from the arena. "Someone is still alive in this place, after all this time?"

Once they arrived, they saw a field with more bodies then any other section in the city combined, the final stage. Here was where most of the duelists and viewers had gathered while some were sent to get outside assistance. "They are still here? They clean up the city, but leave the arena intact." Nero spat. "The company doesnt care about them at all, does it?" They saw faces like Lydia, Mellany, Sean and Alfred, paler then before. "I wonder how long they can last like this, without food or water? Even if their souls are gone, their bodies will.." Of course, they first had to free their souls, before they could consider their physical conditions. "There, the sound came from..there?" In the distance, a noisemaker arose. "Huh, its not one of those white coats, or an authorative figure, is it?" A man stumbled across the pile of bodies. "Wait, I recognize that guy. Didn't he fight Carter in round one?" Nero blinked, and now he was sure of it. It was Dieter Carson, who looked very worn down himself. "Hey, we're over here!" Colin waved. "No, dont!"

Nero held his hand. "Something is wrong here, I don't." Before he could finish his sentence, Dieter noticed them, and he quickly walked towards them. "What is his..problem?" And took out his dueldisk as he stepped up in front of the trio. "Dieter, are you okay?" Nero asked carefully. "I don't think he is.." They looked beyond the shades, and saw a soulless stare. "Oh great. His soul is taken after all." She yelled. "Then how is he standing here in front of us?" Sairve shouted back. "I don't know, I am not the scientist." At that moment, the brainless Dieter decided to use its new voice. "**Duel**" A voice they remembered. "Hey hey hey. Its that computer again! SIM whatshisname!" They were right, it was S.I.M. The same they saw inside Tower 0013 and under the sea. "The artifical intelligence? Whats it doing inside Carson? Are you telling me he downloaded his program into a body without a soul?" That too was exactly what was wrong with him. "He wants a duel because he wants to take our souls too, by using that field card against us."

It still waited for a response. "Screw that, I wont fight that.." Colin was about to run away, but Cleo activated her dueldisk. "You want to run, be my guest. I say we make our stand here. I am tired of standing around and doing nothing!" She drew her deck and inserted it into her disk. "Cleo!" They were shocked. "**First Target, duelist 0124... Accepted. Scanning for interference....none found...commence duel**" Even if Dieter was a human, his current condition could have fooled even his father. His voice barely resembled his own, a mechanical taint had been added to his vocalization. "Interference? Like my ring? Tsch, you stole that one from me you know. You do not need to be affraid of that influence" Though SIM was not likely in a fearful mood. "Wait, if that machine plays the Orichalcos Seal, what will happen if she wins?" Nero wondered. "Thats a good question, I dont think his soul can be stolen twice. And SIM doesnt even have a soul...he must be cheating." Sairve sighed.

Caine twitched "Hey what do you mean 'if she wins'? Do you think I can not duel on my own?" She drew five cards. "Depends, did you get a chance to alter your deck at all?" The answer was yes and no. Even if Jacob had taken over her mind before, her deck had been returned to its former state the moment he left. "He did not alter his though." They noticed that the machine mind never bothered to exchange the cards in Dieters deck. So the computer still used the Sux Samurais that Dieter had. "Well it has more courtesy then Jacob at least." Colin chuckled "I can do this..you two stay quiet and watch me do this." Then Dieter drew six cards. "**Initiate duel: AI-Unit takes first turn. Draw Phase, Standby Phase, Main Phase 1" **The duel began. "Wondeful, an entire hour of that voice"

Cleo's LP: 8000 Dieter/SIMs LP: 8000

A new window popped open on the computer of Marcus, an official notice from Tumaga Inc. "_Eh, whats this?" _Marcus was in his office, surveying the merger between his company and Outerdeck. "_S.I.M. found something near my area?" _He opened the file and saw several scans of the soulless city. "_Site A? Who could draw attention there?" _He took a closer look and saw that the figures resembled three of the missing duelists that had attacked tower 0013. "_Well I will be, they did come back. Heh." _He dropped his folder and headed for the helicopter. _"I had better get on the scene, before any other vultures find those kiddies."_

(To be continued in Testament 060: Unwelcome)


	60. Testament 060: Unwelcome

Testament 060: Unwelcome

**"Spell card: Painful Choice"** The duel was underway, and SIM started off by activating the deck thinning magic card. **"Select five cards from his deck, opponent can choose 1. The rest is discarded."**. The cards were warriors of the Six Samurai: Kamon, Irou, Nisashi, a Grand Master and a Spirit. "Six Samurais, eh? In that case I pick Kamon, because he does not look so lame." She did not even bother to read the effects of the other cards, she did not want to prolong the duel. "**Accepted." **It discarded the four cards. "**Continue Main Phase: Summon Yaichi **(1300/1000) **Set trap card. Activate two continuous spell cards: Unity of the Six Samurai. End Phase.**" Four cards were on his field. But now she could show her skills at last. "_If he uses that rich boy's deck, does he even have the Seal of Orichalcos?"_

"I summon Gil Garth(1800/1200) and kill that samurai!" She called out the faceless demon, which immediately cut off the warmasters head with its sword. "**Noted**" This the first damage was given to the enemy's lifeforce. However it itself did not feel the pain. "Your move." At that point, his trap was flipped. "Enemy's **End Phase, activate Continuous Trap: Swiftstrike Armor. Effect activates during the draw phase**." Its trap responded to the card Carson would draw. "**Every time a warmaster is drawn, it is special summoned to the field.**" Thus when the human/machine duo drew such a card, he could special summon it. "**Special summon Six Samurai - Zanji **(1800/1300). **Enter Main phase, Normal summon**" And it could still normal summon. Next came Kamon(1500/800), the bomber of the clan. "**Battle Phase: Zanji attacks fiend-type monster.**" Cleo was confused by this act, both monsters had equal offense, meaning neither player would win. "You mean to commit suicide?"

Dieter/SIMs LP: 7500

Zanji wrapped his whip around Gil Garth. The fiend tried to strike back, but then Kamon jumped in the way. "Oh right, that old effect." She realized what had happened. Every Six Samurai had the option to give his life for a comrade, so Kamon sacrificed itself to keep the stronger Zanji on the field. "And then you used Zanji's special ability." She commented as Gil Garth collapsed. "Whatever battles with a Zanji, dies at the end of the battle phase." She sighed. SIM was not done yet. "**Activate Effect of continuous spell cards: Unity. This card gains counters every time a samurai is summoned." **So there were two counters on both spells. "**Sacrifice card, to draw cards for every counter on the spell**" And it placed them both in the grave to draw two cards twice. "Yeah well, now its my turn again!" She drew once more, and looked at her hand. Most of them were either weak effectless monsters or situational spell and trap cards. Not what she wanted to draw at all. "_Damnit_."

So she activated the field card, Mystical Plasma Zone. "This powers up all dark-types!" Though it also weakened them defensively. "Now, take this!" Then she called out a strengthened Sorcerer of the Doomed (1950/800). It was stronger than the last standing Samurai. "Time to leave." Zanji was blown to pieces by the shamans dark magic. His counter did not work if he was the only monster on the enemy's field. "**Noted, continue**" She flinched when it said the same thing in the exact same way. "You really are a boring opponent. You wont even taunt or talk trash.." And yet she till hated its guts, or in this case its circuitry.

Dieter/SIMs LP: 7350

**"Noted, draw."** It drew another Samurai card. "**Activate Swiftstrike armor" **The permanent trap card special summoned a Chamberlain of the Samurai to the field, in defense mode (200/2200). "**Standby Phase, Main Phase: Normal Summon Yariza**" A spearman (1000/500) was its fourth choice for this battle. Sadly with the Chamberlain Samurai by his side, he could use his ability. The ability to declare direct attacks. "**Attack the player, duelist 0124**" His/its monster raised the lance and jumped towards the goth. The long weapon was brought down against her shoulder. "Ack!" The blow forced her down to one knee. "I will pay you back for that one!" She told the possessed Dieter, as he placed a trap card facedown. "**Monetary values are not of importance, bargaining is not applicable, end turn" **By now Caine had gotten so frustrated that she started twitching. "Are you mocking me?" She asked loudly, naturally there was no reply. _"I dont like this computer one bit. He feels to stiff and arrogant at the same time." _

Cleo's LP: 7000

"My turn, I Attack!"She attacked again, killing Yariza with the Doom Sorcerer. She had nothing that could break through the Chamberlains armor though. "Then I set two trap cards down, and I end my turn!" SIM noted that too, and drew another card. And then it oddly stopped producing sounds.** "..." **The silence was almost unbearable, Carson did not move at all. "Stop loading data and play that card already!" She snapped, Dieter seemed to hear this. "**Affirmitive, Main Phase: Spell card, Seal of Orichalcos**" And immediately she wanted to kick herself in the foot. The green light of the infernal spread around the two players. "I know that feeling well." Colin shivered, he did not regret declining this match. Now both her and the opponent were locked inside, and the duel could only end with death. "Blargh."

Dieter/SIMs LP: 6600

The spell already strengthened all monsters on his field, adding a dark aura to them. (Chamberlain: 700/2700). Of course the presence of a new field outlawed the older, the Plasma Zone broke down (Sorcerer: 1450/1200). "**Continue Main Phase: activate trap card**." It spoke, as Dieters body seemed to endure some strain under the green light. "**Backs Against the Wall. Cost: Pay all but 100 lifepoints..." **She gasped, Dieter gave up almost everything for this trap. "**Effect: Special summon as many Six Samurai as is allowed. There are [seven] open zones**." And then they remembered that the Orichalcos Seal allowed a duelist to place monsters in the magic/trap zone, and it was in a position to revive seven! "Oh no you do not.. Trap card: Fiend Comedian!" She reacted with her own trap, two laughing fiends arrived on the field, carrying knives and coins. "Its a cointoss effect, if I get heads, I can remove all monsters in your grave, stopping your mass revival!" The Comedians flipped their coin. "_Will she have the luck?"_

Dieters LP: 100

And she did not have it. "No! Gah Colin, you jinxed me!" She cursed. "Hey what? Leave me outta this!" He comic demon stabbed Cleo's disk instead. "Great now I have to discard how many cards? As many cards as Dieter has in his grave? God Damn!" Dieter had ten, so she milled her deck for ten. While some were expendable like Metal Guardian and Skull Temple, others like Omega, Newdoria and Spirit Reaper were not. "Tsch, I failed big time." SIM could proceed to ressurect all seven of the warmasters, each gained 500 attack and defense points. But there was more. "**Activate effect of Kamon, destroy Swiftstrike Armor**." It destroyed its own card. "Why would he... to make room?" Almost every slot had been filled by Back to the Wall. But not anymore. "**Activate Continuous Spell card: The A. Forces. This gives all warriors 200 attackpoints for each warrior on the field**." There were eight, so they all gained 1600 attackpoints. "Aw crap!" All eight clan members empowered each other even further.

(Chamberlain: 2300/2700, Yariza: 3100/1000, Yaichi: 3400/1300, Nisashi: 3500/1200, Kamon: 3600/1500, Irou: 3800/1700, Zanji: 3900/1800 and Grand Master: 4200/1300).

"She can't survive that!" Nero yelled. **"Continue Main Phase: Activate effect of Yaichi, destroy facedown spell or trap"** And then Yaichi destroyed the only card that could have protected her, her last trap. "Wait, that trap is.." Colin looked at the card which Cleo was about to send to the grave. "That's Waboku. You can chain with that!" He gasped. "I can? I mean..I can!" She shook her head and used the trap instead, it chained to Yaichi's arrows. "I still dont get that part of the game. But now it blocks all battle damage for the rest of the turn, right?" They nodded, and then they gasped in surprise. "Wait, since when do you have a card that good?" The seer asked again. "That hurts... not really. I got it from Ananka's deck, obviously." She smirked. "Oh! And you dare to criticize me for using her Arcana cards, and you take some for yourself behind my back!" He would have yelled at her some more, but SIM was not done yet. "**Noted, Attack with Zanji." **The samurai slashed his whip against the Sorcerer. **"Zanji's effect activates."**

Even with her protective trap, the Sorcerer collapsed at the end of the battle phase due to the effect. "**Set spell/trap card, End Phase**." However she had not fallen to the seal yet, and in return her enemy's life had reached the lowest point. "My turn? Good." She surveyed the field. There were several targets on the other side, Grand Master, Kamon, Zanji, Chamberlain and Yaichi in the front row. The rest was in backrow. Yaichi and Chamberlain were defending too. "Heh. this will be fun. I play Spiritualism! This spell bounces a card in the MT zone back to the players hand." She selected A. Forces, since Orichalcos would probably shrug it off anyway. "Oh god, Giant Trunade's weaker cousin..." Colin sighed. "Next I summon, Chaos Necromancer, who gets 300 attackpoints for every monster in my grave. There are 8 monsters in my graveyard (Sorcerer, Gil Garth and 6 cards discarded for Fiend Comedian), so it gets 2400 attackpoints!" Now without the continuous spell, she could actually kill one of the warmasters.

"I choose Kamon!" The necromancer fired dark magic at the weakened warrior (2000/1500). "**Chain: Scroll of the Six Samurai**." However it activated its face-down quickplay spell. "**Effect: Tribute two Samurai cards to special summon Great Shogun Shien from the deck **(3000/2900)**"** The chaos mage stopped in its tracks, as Kamon and Zanji were replaced by the great genera;. "_What, how can I hurt him now?"_ He had so little lifepoints left, yet any killable target that was in attack mode, was now gone. "Cant kill Grand Master, dont wanna kill Chamberlain. Guess its up for you, poor Yaichi." The Necromancer created a hellish pit beneath the archer. "**Noted, Sacrifice Irou keep Yaichi on the field.**" She flinched, Zanji fell into the hell pit instead. Of course he'd want to keep a monster that can destroy facedown cards. "Well, at least Kamon is gone, so I can use face-up spells. Like this permanent spell card, Dark Door!" The others were amazed. "Yes, now only one monster can attack her every turn!" Nero hoped it would be enough.

(Chamberlain: 700/2700, Yariza: 1500/1000, Yaichi: 1800/1300, Nisashi: 1900/1200, Grand Master: 2600/1300 and Great Shogun Shien: 3000/2900)

"**Noted.. Draw, Standby Phase, Main Phase: Summon Spirit of the Six Samurai.**" A relic warrior appeared on the field, turning into armor. **"Its a union monster?" **The samurai merged with Nisashi, the double sword wielder, boosting its strength (2400/1200). "**Continue: Reactivate A. Forces." **Next the spell came back to boost the samurai by 1200 points. Nisashi unsheathed both sword. (3600/1700). "Oh crap, I forgot that Nisashi can attack twice in one turn, even if Dark Door is active!" The warmaster launched into a flurry of cuts and slashes "Now you tell me!" The first cutripped the Necromancer to shreds, inflicting 1200 damage. While the second was swung across her arm, causing 3600 damage . She did not like that feeling at all. "**Union effect activates, draw 1 card for every destroyed monster.**"

Cleo's LP: 2200

(Chamberlain:1900/2700, Yariza: 2700/1000, Yaichi: 3000/1300, Nisashi: 3600/1700, Grand Master: 3800/1300 and Great Shogun Shien: 4200/2900)

Since Nisashi killed her Chaos monster, SIM/Dieter could draw 1 card. "**Main Phase 2: Set two cards in M/T Zone. End Phase" **Things started looking bad again, she had nothing left that could get rid of Allied Forces. Let alone the seal. "It annoys me that I have to fight someone's deck, while he doest even know how much it annoys me." She cursed and drew again. However this draw could turn the game around. "So, SIM, do you understand proverbs? I will fight fire with fire. Possessed Dark Soul" She summoned the fiend made from blood (1200/800) "I can tribute this, to take control of all your level 3 monsters! And three of your samurai fit the description." She removed the dark soul, to take control of Yaichi, Chamberlain and Yariza. "Oh!" Since three left, the remaining three were weakened.

(Nisashi: 3000/1700, Grand Master: 3200/1300 and Great Shogun Shien: 3600/2900)

"I cant beliece she made 'that card' useful." She kept surprising the boys. "Dieter, I hope you like being hit by your own monsters. Because here I come!" First she used Yaichi's power to destroy one of SIMs set cards: Return of the Six Samurai "Whew. Good Call. If he had used that to revive Kamon, she could have lost her Dark Door" Next the spearman jumped into the air, since Yariza could still make direct attacks. "**Chain, Trap Card: Spirit Barrier. When monsters are on the players field, its points are not damaged." **Unfortunately, the attack passed right through the duelist, while the player visibly flinched "Not again." She now regretted destroying the right card. "Even with just 100 LP, he wont die!" She placed a trap card "When will you give up?" Yet Nero noticed the odd reaction. It happened when his own card tried to attack it_. "That expression. It does not resemble someone who... wait."_ He started to believe that the enemy was not as robotic as he appeared to be. "_Can Dieter... see all this?"_

Meanwhile around the stadium, more noises emerged. SIM was not satisfied with taking control of one body, not with three intruders in its sights.  
More and more of the soulless... began to stir.

(To be continued in Testament 061: A Rusty Sword)

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine**  
Possessed Dark Soul

-  
Spiritualism  
Mystic Plasma Zone

-  
Fiend Comedian  
Waboku

**New Cards used by Dieter Carson**  
The Six Samurai - Zanji  
Chamberlain of the Six Samurai

-  
Unity of the Six Samurai  
Seal of Orichalcos  
The A. Forces  
Scroll of the Six Samurai

-  
Backs to the Wall  
Spirit Barrier


	61. Testament 061: A Rusty Sword

Testament 061: A Rusty Sword

SIM/Dieters LP: 100 Cleo's LP: 2200

**"Draw, Standby Phase, Main Phase"** The AI continued its monotonic schedule, despite any signs of life that the main body gave off. "**Maximimize chances of defeat, Great Shogun Shien **(3400/2900) **goes to attack mode. Killing blow..."** Naturally, Shien wanted to kill the traitor Yariza (1000/500), since he remained in attack mode. The attack would cost Cleo all her lifepoints. "Well that wont happen!" She responded with her trap card, Altar for Tribute. "I sacrifice it, and gain lifepoints equal to its attackpoints." She smiled, having robbed the Shogun of an easy prey. "**Noted, replay: Target Yaichi.**" Instead, the warrior slayed the defending archer. Once again Carson noticably twitched when he was forced to attack his own card "**Nisashi unequips the Union monster card, place Spirit of the Six Samurai in defense mode, End Phase**" Also, when the Union monster unequiped itself, a fourth warrior-type entered the field, so Allied Forces added 200 more attackpoints to each Samurai.

(Spirit: 1600/1800, Nisashi: 2500/1200, and Shien: 3600/2900)

Yet when Caine was about to counter-attack, he called out to her. "Cleo, wait!" She stopped abruptly, looking back at Nero. "What? What could possibly be.." Obviously she did not like the interruption. "Listen.. I think his soul is still somewhere in there. It has to be, otherwise there would be soul to feed the seal, if you win!" He yelled. "Stop saying that: if I win? And what do you mean, he is not soulless?" She summoned Shadowknight Archfiend (2000/800) and attacked the Nisashi. But the Grand Master jumped in the way. "**Sacrifice Grand Master, maintain Nisashi**" Any damage he would have taken was nullified by Spirit Barrier anyway. Yet this time she saw how pained Dieter looked. That was not the emotion of a machine "You're right.. well I'll be." The thing was, what could they do about it. "But that explains why this guy irritates me. Only someone with a soul can..." Her turn was over. "**Draw, Standby Phase, Main Phase: Normal Summon 'Hand of the Six Samurai'**." It called out a female assassin.

(Spirit: 1800/1800, Nisashi: 2700/1200, and Shien: 3800/2900, Hand: 2900/1500)

Cleo's LP: 3200

She was empowered by the Seal and the continuous spell. "That cant be good." **"Continue Main Phase, equip Shien with the Union Monster: Spirit of Six Samurai"** Now the Shogun wore the relics armor (4300/3400). Next, suddenly, the assassin stabbed Nisashi with her dagger. **"Activate Hands effect: Sacrifice one 'Six Samurai' to destroy one Monster Card on the field..targeting**." With the death of Nisashi, she could kill something else. SIM apparently wanted to kill the Chamberlain. "Well?" Yet after a long pause, it suddenly changed its objectives. "**Target found: Shadowknight Archfiend**." But that allowed Cleo to use the effect of her archfiend. "Why did you... _Was that Dieter just now?_ I mean...." She shook her head and took out a dice. "When you target my demon, I can roll a dice! If it hits 3, the effect is sent back at the enemy!" She flipped it. Miraculously it landed on a three. "Okay, thats just.." And before the seer could complain, The Hand had killed herself thanks to the dice effect.

Now only Shien remained on the field(3700/3400), A. Forces lost its effectivity. "**Noted, Battle Phase: Attack Archfiend-type with Shogun Shien**(4100/3400)" Yet despite the Archfiends effort, the knight was still slain in something as simple as battle. **"Union Effect re-activate: Draw 1 card when enemy monster dies."** Shien drew a quickplay spell card: Cunning of the Six Samurai. This was bad news for Caine, as it could revive any Samurai from the grave if it sacrificed one. That meant that it could unequip Spirit, and tribute it to special summon Kamon. The bomber samurai would then use his ability to destroy her continuous spell: Dark Door, allowing more then one monster to attack her in a turn. This was her last chance. "Draw." And the goth did not know that. "This is..ironic." The others held their breath, they did know what spell SIM had in store for her. They just could not tell. "_Heh, guess I never did fight alone_." She activated the continuous spell card: EctoPlasmer. "Oh! Wait...how is that ironic?!"

Cleo's LP: 1100

"I have only one monster on the field, a weak one. But its enough..If I can not bypass your Spirit Barrier, I shall have to use effect damage. This spell inflicts damage during the endphase, equal to half of a sacrificed monster." Ectoplasmer converted the Chamberlain (200/2200) into spiritual energy(100 atk). It was just enough to finish the game, since Dieters LP had been reduced to 100 by 'Back to the Wall'. "I think its ridiculous, but amusing at the same time." And then she fired the ectoplasm, straight at SIM/Dieter. "Do you have a chain for this, I do not think so!" And just like that, she had won. "I am sure whatever part of Dieter remained inside that body, would appreciate the fact that it was his own card that did him in." The seal already started to fade, unfortunately that implied Carson was going to lose his soul all over again. "What? She didnt need her ring of greater cheating?" Sairve didnt know whether to be disappointed or happy. Nero was only the latter. "Cleo, you did it!"

SIM/Dieters LP: 0

"You doubted me? Tsch..and no dont hug me or anything like that.." She rasped and de-activated her disk. "Well, aren't you supposed to go?" She asked Dieter, who was still possessed by SIM, and still stood there like a zombie. Orichalcos had already disappeared, so only SIM was inside the body now. "**Negative, moving on to next host.**" He collapsed at last. "Wait..next..host?" And at the same time, other soulless humans woke up, each bearing the same mindless expressions. "Son of a bitch.." And more came from other angles, the ones that had been ressurected earlier. "**Apprehend intruders, with extreme force..." **When faced with against such overwhelming numbers, they three duelists were left with but one choice. "Flee!" Colin started the retreat, and the others followed. The SIM-drones were quick to pursue.

However the chase did not last very long. "Huh?" As soon as they entered the nearest hallway, their hunters stopped running. "What the?" So they too stopped to catch their breath. They watched the army behind them, just standing there. "Can't they get in?" Cleo even dared to get up close, waving her hand in front of a soulless one. "Oh! I get it." Nero started to laugh. "SIM is controlling them from the satellite right? But he can not control what he can not see.. as soon as his hosts enter a building, he loses track of them!" Colin however was less relaxed. "Yeah, but they are still in our way. Look here." He had walked over to the other side of the hall, and pointed out the window. "Oh snap." Every exit of the arena was blocked by hordes of mindwiped humans. "They really have no life." Caine hissed. "How are we supposed to get out?"

They tried to find the solution inside the surveillance room, which was one floor below them. The doors were not even locked.. "At least the camera's here are still working." He picked up a phone and heard nothing but static. "Ggh, all contact is still offline. We cant even sick the cops on these guys." They began to wonder just how far Orichalcos had spread. "Well we should be able to find one exit on these screens, one that is not guarded." They started switching from channel to channel. "Wait, if we do escape this place, we need evidence." Cleo suddenly said. "I mean, I hardly believe whats going on here. Any people we contact, will most certainly not hear us through." They were only children after all, children that blamed a large company. "Well lets hope then that not everything has been taken. I mean, all the stuff that happened here. It would certainly be caught on security films, right?" They inserted a recording, the label did not tell much. "Well lets see if this one is from before or after the purge." But the screen revealed nothing.. it was only static. "After, I reckon." They tried another, but that one was also static. "Maybe this." Finally they came across one that had normal footage. "Oh. Thats me!"

They saw the finals again, Jackson against Nero 'Jacob'. "That makes me wonder where he is right now." He sighed. "Yeah we have already seen this. Speed it up, we need to get to the scary part." Cleo fast-forwarded the tape. Yet just as the ceremony was about to end, it stopped. Static replaced the image of Marcus Simmons, about to talk to the champion Doe. "No way. This is no accident." Every tape that should have recorded the soldier carnage and the satellite trial run, those all had empty screens. "They tampered with it. Or they simply shut down all camera's after that moment. We cant use any of these!" There had to be more tapes that could reveal the evil behind Tumaga. "Thats a good thing though. If they did leave actual evidence behind, it could have been bait for people that knew too much. Who knows, if SIM gets too desperate, he might fire the satellite and drain our souls directly." But so far nothing that ominous happened. "Maybe the beam cant go inside buildings either." Sairve hoped, but then he saw... "Ehr guys, whats that light?" There was a blinking red light, it had turned itself on. "That ....what is it for?" Just then another light showed up, on all camera images. "I think, it was sending a warning."

"So it was bait after all? This place must have been rigged to give off a warning!" Cleo shook her head. "I doubt it, I think its more of SIMs doing. Tum'aga must have put the AI into this buildings mainframe as well. And why do I sound like that geek Ned so much?" And then came the noises from outside. "Huh? That sounded close. That means...someone is inside?" And since SIM himself could not bring people inside the stadium walls, it had to be. "Thats it. That damn computer called for help from the corporation. How long have we wasted time here?" They checked so many tapes, they lost track of that. "Its more then one person too." They heard several footsteps, getting closer. "Well we need to get out of here, before we are cut off." They opened the door, looked around. "Sounds like it is coming from the left." Nero whispered. "Then right we must go." They rushed off, as softly as they could. They stopped momentarily when they came close to the emergency exits. "We can not go there, can we?"

Their luck was running out, because SIMs zombies were still outside, waiting. "Figures. He wont fire the satellite as long as he controls them." The other noise grew again. "Crap.. we have to hide somewhere inside!" They searched the place. "There! The generator room! Its a secure place, it might even have an underground exit." It was better then nothing, so thats where they ran to next. Unfortunately, their idea was not as creative as they wanted it to be. "Uh uh uh." Someone had beaten them to the punch, waiting for them around the corner "It is you?!" It was Justine Loveless, standing in between the kids and the door. "You kids really do act before you think. We thought you were dead, but then you went ahead and triggered so many alarms. Finding you was childs play." Before they could protest or run away, she unveiled a weapon. "Now you are mine. " It was a small grenade launcher, which released sleeping gas grenades. "No..ugh..dont breathe." But it was too late for them, they all fell prey to the gas. "Rest easy now.."

Later at Tower 0013"Sir Creed." Simons viewscreen turned on, revealing Marcus on the other side of the transmission. "What is it Simmons?" He turned around his big chair to meet the man face to face. "My men and I arrived on the scene, but we found nobody of the intruders, alive or dead." He showed him a view of the corpse-littered arena. "Then they escaped, and you failed to stop them." He scoffed. "A failure beyond my helping, sir. Satellite images show outside interference." He then revealed images of a black limousine, which travelled towards a small blimp. "Thats her car, I recognize it anywhere, sir." He was certain that Justine had interfered. "Hmm, I wonder what she is thinking, doing things on her own like that? Its not like its a race between kartel members." He chuckled and poured in some of Simone's wine into his glass. "Keep me up to date, Marcus. And send a courier over to Justine's place." He shut down the terminal. "_Hmph, these people.. I already won my race with my sister. But now 'they' want to run with me too.."_

(To be continued in Testament 62: Prisoners Dilemma)

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine**  
Ectoplasmer

**New Cards used by SIM/Dieter Carson**  
Hand of the Six Samurai

-  
Cunning of the Six Samurai


	62. Testament 062: Prisoners Dilemma

Testament 062: Prisoners Dilemma

After several hours, the trio of duelists woke up from their gas-enforced slumber. "N..no...not again." They opened their eyes to see walls of a titanium-plated cell... again. "I dont this. Why keep shoving us into prison?" Cleo hissed. "They could just as easily take our souls." At least that way her agony would end. "You have some odd preferences then." Colin got up, and banged the walls. "Tsch, its just like that tower, we must be back at 0013." These cells did look like each other. "Maybe the others are here too then. If they got caught as well.." Nero sighed, things did not look good. "I know one thing, I will not go back to that freakshows laboratory." Cleo of course referred to Cadron, who was probably still eager to test the duelists with his malicious experiments. _**"Freakshow huh?"**_ Right after the goth had finished her rant, they heard a voice which also started to annoy them. _**"I can see my companion gives off the same vibe to different surroundings. But trust me, I too can put up an equally entertaining show."**_

Out of nowhere, Justine Loveless had appeared, she stood at the center of the cellroom. "You!" Cleo immediately tried to grab her by the neck. Yet she passed right through the woman, and slammed against the wall_**. "Now now, dont injure yourself over something as minor as a hologram."**_ Obvious to her now, this Justine was not really present, she was a virtual image, projected by their own dueldisks. _**"I can tell that speaking to you in person would not benefit me.." **_Her voice came from an intercom sealed inside the walls. _**"Allow me to welcome you to Temple Soft, the firm that created those dueldisks you were with such great pride. Since you kept them around, I can talk to you this way. Or did you forget that it was me that invented the holographis grid?"**_ She laughed. "Temple Soft? We're not at tower 0013 then" But that raises other questions "...what do you want with us?" Nero asked the woman. _**"Oh, about the same thing that everyone in the Kartel wants..bait"**_

The others stared at the woman. _**"You really have been gone for a long time, haven't you? I guess I should inform you as to what happened while you were gone." **_She paused to clear her throat._** "After you left the underwater site, through means we could not understand, Simone was left alone to drown in her own trap. Her soul had been sacrificed for the cause, and Simon is now the last Creed. Of course, in this business, no chair stays empty. You will never guess who took her position." **_She smiled, and they indeed could not guess. "Just tell us, if you want to share it so much." Nero cursed._** "No body guesses, not even the diviner? Its Glyph."**_ Caine flinched. _**"Yes, he took over as Simons partner. He turned back on the power as a gesture of allegiance, which allowed Simon to shut down the satellite before it mindwiped the tower. Dont think too much of it though, we simply keep him around to indulge his otherwise disturbing plans. **_

_**"It's a game you see, every Kartel member plays one. Simone lost, Glyph joined in, Simon quickly secured his own rank. And now I made my move, by capturing the three that took down ms. Creed. That gives me an edge over the likes of Cadron the freakshow, and the slowmoving Simmons." **_She could not help but chuckle at her own nickname-jokes_**. **_"You still didnt asnwer our question." They still did not know what 'bait' was supposed to imply. _**"Sorry. I get carried away from time to time, I am new to this as well." **_She pulled out a strange remote. _**"To business then: In my hands I hold a transmitter. I can call Tumaga any time I want, and tell them who I have in custody**_**."** They all gasped. _**"However, if I give you away, it wont be for free. So, let us play a game first." **_Her smile became uncomfortably wide_**. "Inside each of your dueldisks lies a special card, pick it up"**_ They did so, and to their dismay, they each received 'that' card. "Seal of Orichalcos?"

_**"Indeed, this will be the ante for the game. I want you three to use that as you see fit. The moment you insert that card into your disk, the seal will activate and take the souls of whoever does not have that card in his deck. That means, only one of you will leave this cell alive."**_ A long silence followed, and Cleo broke it. "What the hell kinda plan is this? You want us to kill each other?" Colin was oddly quiet and Nero was still to shocked to respond. "_**You dont have to do as I say, in that case you can wait for someone else to play the field. Though, in the end one of you will break, and use that power. Because, if all three of you are alive by the end of this hour, I might do it myself, or I might call Simon. Oh and don't think you can get out of this by destroying those cards. If even one of them is torn, this cell will respond with its own 'Seal'. You have 35 minutes left to decide."**_ Then her image disappeared at last, leaving the others in a state of bewilderment. "Why would she play this sick game?"

Of course her main motive behind this twisted plot was to see who among them was most likely to crack under pressure. All she wanted was to keep one kid for herself, and give the other two to their precious city. She probably did not need to use such a detailed plot against them, but boredom only raised her unpleasant creativity. "We do not even now if these cards are real or not," Nero stared at his spell. "What if she is bluffing, and thse are fake?" Yet there was no way to test that theory, not without risking the deaths of everyone around them. "Whatever she thinks, I wont do it." After several minutes of thinking, Nero tossed the card aside. "Colin, Cleo?" He wondered if they though about it the same way. "Tsch, can I trust him?" She stared at Sairve. "Hey, I can say the same for you. I wont let go until you do.." The tension began to rise between the two, in fact even Jacobus began to doubt his casual discarding of the spell. "Guys, we dont want to do this." He pleaded, yet they still looked at each other. "Damn it, let go!"

The tension could be cut with a knife, but rather it was attacked with sound. The two stoppe staring once they wore distracted by footsteps from outside. "Huh? Cant they wait!?" And after that, the cell door opened. A guard stood on the other side. "_What does he want?"_ There was something odd about him too. The man took off his helmet. "Hey wait thats.." Colin tried to shout out his name, but the man shushed him. "Hmphff Doe." The others saw the face briefly from under the helmet. Before them stood an old friend, disguised as a Templesoft employee. "Jack?" They whispered, and the man nodded. He was Jackson Doe, still a mute, but a sight for sore eyes regardless. "How..when?" He waved with his hand, beckoning them to come out of the cell before anyone caught on. _"I can not believe that this is happening! It seems almost to convenient.." _But now was not the time to start expecting answers. To maintain the illusion he had to get them out as fast as possible and as quietly as possible.

Alas these strange events did not evade the watchful eyes of the mistress of this building. _"Hmmhmm, its him I see."_ She watched through the camera's, as Doe freed everyone from their containment room_. "It seems the bait worked, and I caught an even bigger fish. I knew these 'heroes' could not stay hidden, when they realized that I captured some of their best friends." _She planned for this as well, she even hoped that Jackson would be the one to enter her place. _"Time to arrange a new game, a special one." _She then pulled out something from her pocket, and activated the com link. "Come over..."

Jackson as a mute was pretty much an impossible storyteller, still they managed to resolve some of the confusion. "Are the others around as well, are they alive?" Questions like these would be answered with a confident nod. "Ned, Christine and Carter.." They were all still around. "Then, did you save them from tower 0013?" To that he a;sp gave a nod, however he raised his finger as well. "But.." He extended his index and middle fingers, indicating that there were two people who saved everyone. "You had help then, from Cable I guess?" This time he shook his head. He had been forced to leave Cable behind to maintain some control over Outerdeck, and there was a second reason for his presence here. The remainder of their questions would have to wait, for they suddenly entered a wide-open space. "What now?" They had abandoned the detainment area, and ended up in a large hall, surrounded by steel pillars, cranes and wires. _**"What you do not expect to find industry in a place that creates dueldisks and cyborgs?"**_

They knew that voice well. "Justine!" She stood in the middle of the room, apparently having waited there for them to come in. Cleo looked like she was about to jump on her again, but held back. "Ggh, let me guess, another hologram?" She smirked, the woman did not respond. "..." Jackon could feel it just as easy as they could see it, there was no soul here. "If you want to stop us, you should send guards, not holograms." Colin said, feeling rather safe with Doe around. _**"Oh that never works."**_ She released a very unusual laugh. _**"This place is not as heavily guarded as Simons tower anyway, I cant afford to let Orichalcos soldiers run wild in here." **_But that story did not click. "Wait. We heard footsteps, you werent alone at the stadium." Nero protested. _**"Correct. I was not. I had four friends." **_As she spoke, the sound of footsteps came from behind her, another man entered the room_**. "Lets meet one of those right now. I have the sneaking suspicion that Jackson came for him as well."**_

And then they received a double shock. One for the jewel that was held in the strangers hand. "Thats, the Orichalcos shard!" The other for the man that was holding the shard. "Cable Fraser!!" There stood Jacksons best friend, the creator of the video game series and Doe's own Persona monster set. And he was holding the shard that Simmons once had. In it, there were the five personalities Doe had lost to the Seal of Orichalcos. _**"I was hoping that you, Jackson Doe, would show up. Its time for a new game, since you ruined my prisoner one." **_Doe was most surprised of them all, he even wanted to yell out his name. _**"You cant even cry for him?"**_ Justine noticed his inability to make a vocal response._** "Probably because of this thing. Your soul is still fragmented..."**_ Cable raised his jewel and placed it inside his pocket.

"What did you do to him?" Nero did the yelling for Jackson in this case. The villains responded by pulling out their dueldisk. "Did you steal his soul, like you did with the town?" If that was his ailment, then it was possible that SIM controlled Fraser right now. But they remembered how SIM could only control minds it could see. _**"No, not that. I dont trust that intelligence network as much as I trust my fellow kartel partners. I took Cable here under my wings when Jackson left him alone at Outerdeck. Not a wise move to make." **_Doe's left eye twitched. _**"We of course knew that he betrayed us, and we longer need him as a card game designer. So we sealed his soul in the same gem that the Personae were sealed in. I assume Jackson came here to correct his great mistake." **_Cable took out a dueldisk. _**"The goal of this game is to fight for this very shard, now..any challengers?" **_And without a moments hesitation, Jackson stepped up and activated his dueldisk.

"Jack, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, some of your cards..ehr..personalities are mindwiped...." Colin could not believe he just said that. But the look of determination in his eyes was telling enough: he could not be convinced to step back. _**"Oh this will be amusing, wont it?" **_The hologram Loveless stepped back, and gave the two players room to move. "_**Since both of you are as silent as the grave, I guess I shall provide the narration. You kids can stand back." **_She smiled, as the two drew their cards. _**"The hostess will begin this duel."**_

Cable's LP: 8000 Jacksons LP: 8000

(To be Continued in Testament 063: Fallen Star)


	63. Testament 063: Falling Star

Testament 063: Falling Star

"Where could they be" Christine asked. "We have been waiting for half an hour by now." She was not alone either. "Do you think something went wrong?" She, Ned and Dieter stood inside a darkened area, outside of Templesoft. They remained behind so they could maintain the planned escape route. This mission was very dangerous, the rescue of their friends and Cable. "Doe can handle himself, we should trust him." Carter responded, showing a little bit more confidence. "Tsch, can we? He has not been very sane since he lost like twenty percent of his mind." Ned scoffed. "We should check." Rose said, sounding more worried with every passing second. "That wont do them good, we could only spare one disguise remember? Unless you want to go back to tower 0013 right now and pick up spares." Ned whispered. "We just have to sit here and wait for them to be lead outside, thats the plan." And William Carter always stuck to his plans. "I know you think this is a bad idea..but its our only one right now"

Cable's LP: 8000 Jacksons LP: 8000

_**"The duel begins, it begins with us."**_ The possessed Cable drew a card. _**"And he summons a Marine to the field." **_There came the most basic unit of the Terran army, the infantry soldier wearing a power combat suit (1300/1200). "I see you did not even bother to change his deck." Nero commented, as he remembered that Starcraft was the theme that Fraser had used againt Carter when they first met him. ".." However Jackson was not impressed and countered with his own cards. He summoned Cybele, Symbol of the Lovers (1800/700). _**"Nice card, however..." **_The name of which made Justine grin. **"...I did not activate any effects yet. So I am affraid that your monster does not get any effects either." **She was right, all Symbols required other effects before they could use their own. A monster, spell or trap, nnone of those was activated during the womans turn. Never the less, Jackson attacked. Cybele slew the Marine with ice magic, afterwards he placed a trap and his turn was ended.

Cable's LP: 7500

_Terran Marine, 4/1300/1200 Earth/Warrior/Terran_

"No effects for him... I guess thats why she summoned a Vanilla monster in the first turn." Cleo said, well aware of her own tendency to rely on effectless cards. And when her turn came again, all she did was summon another effectless monster. _**"If one plan works, why not use it again?"**_ This time it was the Terran Hero, Raynor (1900/1500). "Hey that marine has a name, he must be special." Colin joked. The soldier then pulled out his gun and fired at Cybele. But then his facedown card was activated. _**"The Dark Hour?" **_It would negate the death of Cybele, and redirect that fate towards her attacker. _**"So much for Raynor."**_ Doe still took battle damage however. And the spell did not trigger Cybele's powers either. "Ugh he would have had a chance to use something by now. If it was not for the fact that most of his cards are designed to bypass the awakening of a Symbol." She ended their turn once more, after placing a trap of her own. _**"Makes you wish those cards of yours say otherwise, doesnt it?"**_

Jacksons LP: 7900

_Terran Hero-Raynor 4/1900/1500 Earth/Warrior/Terran_

Doe started to look annoyed. Actually, Cybele started to get annoyed, but she could not speak for him. Their hive mind had been fragmented, the fragments were so close and yet so far away. But then they managed to say one word, which surprised her. "Wander." The duelist discarded a monster from his hand, the Wanderer of the Tower. He threw it away to add his field spell to his hand: Tartarus Tower. _**"A field searcher?"**_ He activated the latter, to empower his symbol (2000/900). The room basked in ominous green light. "Ah. Now he can simply choose what effects his monsters have every turn." Nero cheered. "I know that, I dueled him before you did, you know." Colin rasped. Next Doe activated a spell card, speaking another word through the Lovers mouth. "Activate." His spell, Tartarus Activation - The Dead End, targeted the enemy's field. Suddenly the imposing tower trembled and it began to break down. Pieces of it crashed into three of her monster zones and one of her spell zones. _**"Interesting.." **_..

_Tartarus Activation-The Dead End, Continuous Spell  
__You can only activate this card if there is a [Tartarus Tower] on the field. Destroy [Tartarus Tower], and then choose up to four slots(Monster and Spell/Trap zones) on your opponent's field. As long as this is face-up on your side of the field, your opponent cannot use those slots._

The continuous spell had the power to destroy zones. Now with three occupied, she could only summon two monsters to her field, and place up to four traps in her magic/trap zone. However there was also bad news, Cybele's negative effect was the spell-effect. Meaning that Jackson had to lose 1000 LP whenever a spell was used. He had to press onwards. _"I will have to hit you now Cable, but I do this to free you." _Cybele mentally cursed as she was forced to strike her old friend. "Ugh." Even with her facedown trap, Justine allowed the hit to happen. She enjoyed it too, since it was not her person that was being assaulted. "Ggh, this is some sick game again, isnt it?" Cleo hissed at her. The only one in pain was Cable here, the holographic vixen felt nothing._** "Eeeh, such a sharp tongue. I would use that against me Cleo Caine. Duelists under my control are far greater then those under the control of SIM."**_ Finally Doe summoned a second monster, a soulless symbol. "Coin." It was a Minor Arcana of Coins (1200/1100)

Cable's LP: 5700 Jacksons LP: 6900

_Soulless Symbol of the Coins, 3/1200/1100 Light/Fairy  
__This monster cannot be attacked if there is a 'Persona' monster on your side of the field. Activate the following effects depending on which 'Persona' type monster effect that has been succesfully activated.  
__Monster: Look at the top of your deck. If it is a monster card, add it to your hand. Otherwise, put it back at the top of your deck.  
__Spell: Look at the top of your deck. If it is a spell card, add it to your hand. Otherwise, put it back at the top of your deck.  
__Trap: Look at the top of your deck. If it is a trapcard, add it to your hand. Otherwise, put it back at the top of your deck._

Though in some circles, like Ananka's, it was called a 'Pentacle'. The card apparently followed the spell effect of Cybele, allowing her to check the top card from his deck, If it was a spell, he could add it to his hand. "Magic." It definitely was a spell, so he took it into his hand, and ended his turn. _**"Hrm, I think its time to go into the next level, as they say."**_ The mindless Cable drew another card, and it revealed its inhuman nature very quickly. "The Seal!" He played the field spell of even greater ominous light. "Seal of Orichalcos!" The circle spread around the two players, the assymetrical star appeared on the floor below and of course also on Cable's forehead. Strangely there appeared to be a second symbol on the forehead of Cable, but nobody saw that one as it was covered by the Atlantian star. "Damn, she is using the souls inside the shard as a sacrifice for the field card!" Nero shouted. _**"Very astute. Souls that were put aside can be sacrificed again and again... Now lets continue." **_

Next she summond a flying unit, the Terran Valkyrie. Even machines were powered up by the seal, the ships windows gained a bloodred glow (2300/2050). _**"This card can attack every monster on the field, one at a time. So even if your soulless fairy can use its effect to hide behind an ensouled Symbol**_, _**he wont be able to run from the Valkyrie's second shot." **_Doe cringed, as the Terran ship fired away, killing his two monsters with twin missile launchers. _**"Also, your continuous spell, Dead End, is truly dead now, is it not? If we run out of monsterzones, we can simply use the magic and trap zones." **_Since the Seal allowed her to place monsters in the Magic and Trap area. _**"I think you will find that nothing works against he who created those cards of yours. **_Doe continued to stare at Justine with relentless contempt, he was not dueling his old friend as much as he was dueling her machinations. But still.. they knew all his tricks, his entire deck. "_**You are helpless against him... Jackson.." **_

_Terran Valkyrie, 4/1800/1550 Machine/Wind/Terran  
__This card can not be special summoned. This monster can attack each monster on your opponent's side of the field once each. _

Jacksons LP: 5300

Jackson summoned Attis, the Hanged Man (1000/1000) to the field. "That wont do." The Valkyrie was quite stronger then him, and its effects were not going to help him. "Research." However he played the spell, Research of One's Mind, sacrificing Attis to draw cards from his deck until he obtained a Persona monster that could be summoned. "Chariot." He drew up to five cards until he got the Chariot Persona. He discarded four other cards, and special summoned the Symbol Thor. The norse god with helmet and hammer (3000/1800) "I smite thee!" Jackson suddenly adopted a more ancient accent, as his thunder warrior channeled lightning through his hammer. _**"Hee, battling Valkyries with Thor himself...Trap card: Cloaking Field!"**_ However she chained with her cloaking trap card, making the Terran invisible. Now the lightning was forced to hit Doe instead. "Ggh!" The trap caused him to lose lifepoints equal to Thors defense points. Afterwards the Valkyrie ship stopped being unseen, returning without a scratch.

Jacksons LP: 3500

_Thor, Symbol of the Chariot, 8/3000/1800 Light/Warrior/Persona  
____Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
You can summon this card without tributing a monster. If you choose to do so, this card's original attack and defense is halved.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a 'Persona' monster.__  
__Monster: When the last effect resolves, this monster gains 400 attack points.  
__Spell: When the last effect resolves, this monster gains 200 attack points.  
__Trap: When the last effect resolves, this monster gains 100 attack points._

At the very least Thors Persona-effect gave him 100 extra attackpoints, since a trap was used. _**"Really now, dont look so surprised. Even if you dont know a thing about the decks your old friend made for you, at least try to remember the cards he used a week ago." **_It was their turn again. "You know..nothing." Thor Doe grunted. _**"Full sentences, I am impressed." **_She grinned, and the mindless Cable sacrificed his Terran for a tribute summon of a level six machine. _**"This is called the Terran Siege Tank **_(2500/3100). _**It is automatically summoned in defense mode."**_ And its defense, while strenghtened by Orichalcos, could match The Chariots offense. _**"Furthermore, it can attack directly with half its attackpoints." **_The barrel of the Tank turned towards Jackson and took aim. "That will hurt." Colin took cover just to be safe. Then the Siege Tank fired at Doe, and the shell exploded right in front of him. "Ghaaah!" He screamed in pain. _**"At least you can still cry."**_ Then she placed a trap once again. "Does she ever shut up?"

Jacksons LP: 2250

_Terran Siege Tank, 6/2000/2600 Fire/Machine/Terran  
__This card is changed to defense position when it is tribute summoned successfully. While this card is in face-up Defense Position, your opponent cannot select another monster on your side of the field as an attack target and this card can attack your opponent's life points directly. In that case, apply half the ATK of this card for damage calculation._

And thanks to Thors monster ability, it could raise its attack by 400, which allowed its hammers strength (3500/1800) to exceed the shielding of the Tank. He also normal summoned the Symbol of the Emperor, Odin (1900/1500) to the field. "Father and son?" Now both norse gods released their divine lightning upon the Terran machinery, obliterating the tank and striking Fraser directly. Doe only wished that he did not have to go that far. Sadly, a trap card was activated in response to this clash. _**"This calls for a Siege Situation." **_And suddenly from the scrapheap that used to be the Siege Tank, came two human Terran units. _**"This trap respond to the downfall of another unit, its level to be precise. The tank was a level six unit, so thanks to my trap, I can special summon six levels worth of units."**_

Cable's LP: 3800

_Siege Situation, Normal Trap  
__You can only activate this card if the only 'Terran' monster you controlled on your side of the field was removed from the field by your opponent.  
__During your next standby phase, you can special summon up to two 'Terran' monsters from your deck whose combined level is equal or lower than the level of the destroyed monster._

Her two new monsters were Terran Medics (1300/1700), level 3 soldiers. _**"The Medics heal us by 400 points each. But thats not all.."**_ She smirked as suddenly Thor lost all his power boosts (3000/1800). _**"I can negate attack increments." **_So the Medics had weakened Thor, and she still had a normal summon for this turn. _**"Its time to use the strongest asset of this legion."**_ She tributed both Medics for a level 8 unit, the flying battleship._** "Terran BattleCruiser, the flagship of the Terran army **_(3500/2000). _**Not even a god can stand against that"**_ The Cruiser reduced Thor to ashes with its many cannons, before he could boost himself again. _**"Well what do you say about your friend now? Looks to me like he kept the best cards for himself."**_ Doe twitched again. _**"Of course, considering your unique history, he had no choice. I wonder how many secrets you kept from him in return. Like how you ended up with a shattered mind." **_She licked her lips in anticipation. _**"I cant wait to start interrogating you.."**_

Cable's LP: 4600 Jacksons LP: 1750

_Terran Medic, 3/800/1200 Light/Warrior/Terran  
__When this card is succesfully summoned, increase your lifepoints by 400.  
__As long as this card is face-up, negate all effects that increase the attack or defense points of monster cards on your opponents side of the field._

_Terran Battlecruiser, 8/3000/1500 Wind/Machine/Terran  
__During battle between this attacking card and a Defense Position monster whose DEF is lower than the ATK of this card, inflict the difference as Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points._

But Doe was not talking to her anymore, all he could think about was Fraser. He remembered the day they first met. It was on Campus, he was all alone but Cable found him and actually started talking to him. O fall students he was the only student that bothered to get to know Cable. Even back then Jackson was seen as somewhat of a freakshow, his hair, his eyes, he did not look normal they said. _"What is this.."_. After 'that incident', where he nearly slipped into a coma, Cable was also the one to visit him at his sickbed. _"Why do I feel so disturbed_." Everyone of his persona felt the same attachment to him, the mind was connected in all aspects and shared many bonds. "_Why do we feel it?"_ And though he was not officially a part of Cable's soul, he could feel when something was wrong. For others, but also for his closest friend. _"Its as if he feels the pain that his body does, its.."_ Right now there were so many things wrong with that friend, none more so then what he recently noticed. _"Wait, that sign" _Behind the star imprinted on Cable's forehead, was a faint golden emblem, shaped like an... "Eye?" He knew that symbol all to well, it was the Eye of Wdjat, the eye of the egyptian gods and the millenium.

"The Millenium.." The others noticed it too, as he spoke tha magic word. "Millenium?" Cleo recognized it the best due to her own experience. The more she looked the more Cable started to resemble a certain duelist she once faced. Justine saw the look on their faces and cackled. _**"So you finally realized that there is more at work here, more then Atlantian magic." **_Justine clapped her virtual hands. _**"You can thank Glyph for this as well, he showed us the way." **_Cleo flinched. _**"I already told you that Glyoh aligned with Tumaga, did I not? Well in exchange for our 'collection' he granted us a detailed study of his Millenium item, the Rod. It turns out that it can control the minds of the weak." **_For a moment the eyes of Cable started to glow. _**"We combined this artifact with our own experiments, and we fashioned a simulated rod-program for SIM. Thats how the network can control the bodies of those who have been mindwiped by the seal. And how I can play this lovely game of ours.. ohohoho." **_

Cable looked at her, with an expression that could kill. "You... will... die."

(To be continued in Testament 064: Behind the Curtain)

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe  
**_Soulless Symbol of the Coins_  
_Thor - Symbol of the Chariot_

_-_  
_Tartarus Activation - Dead End_

**New Cards used by Cable Fraser  
**_Terran Marine_  
_Terran Hero Raynor_  
_Terran Valkyrie_  
_Terran Siege Tank_  
_Terran Medic_  
_Terran Battle Cruiser_

_-_  
_Siege Situation_


	64. Testament 064: Behind the Curtain

Testament 064: Behind the Curtain

Jacksons LP: 1650 Cable's LP: 4600

Doe placed one trap card down. And with the threat he gave Justine, he ended his turn. Switching Odin to defense mode was not going to help anyway, since Battle Cruiser had a piercing effect laser next to its normal arsenal. Odin had less defense points then offense points._** "I think the Seal/Rod program is an excellent tool for the punishment of disobdience. What better way to train a soul, than this?"**_ She forced the duelist to draw again, agonizing Jackson even further with his helpless appearance. _**"Secret weapon time, lets fire the Yamato Gun." **_And then a trap was flipped. "!" The battle ship operned a compartment and revealed its biggest cannon yet. It was the Yamato Gun. She payed 1000 LP for it _**"This will destroy all cards on your field, Doe. No traps, no monsters, you will lose it all and then nothing can stop the final assault."**_ The Gun started charging. "Crap, if he gets hit now.." The others thought he was a goner for sure. A direct hit from the Cruiser would drop Jackson to zero.

Cable's LP: 3600

_Yamato Gun, Normal Trap  
You can only activate this card if you have a [Terran Battlecruiser] on your side of the field. Pay 1000 LP to destroy all cards on your opponent's side of the field._

"No, we wont lose to someone who does not want it." But they were surprised by his claim, and the fact that he activated his trap anyway. "Mind Impact!" The Impact started, he could sacrifice a Persona and every monster with equal or lower level would die at the same time. He tributed Odin for it, since it was actually an 8-star monster. _**"The Cruiser!"**_ Her flagship was also a level 8 card, so it was destroyed by his trap. Though Yamato Gun still went off, since the presence of the Battle Cruiser was only required for its activation. It destroyed the spell: Tartarus- Dead End, allowing Justine to use all of her zones again. _**"Ah, you avoided death with good timing. You do not want to become my slave as well, do you?" **_Instead Cable summoned a new unit, the Terran Firebat (1600/1400). Doe was wide open for an attack still. "Isn't that obvious?" Cleo hissed, while the Firebat hit Doe with its flamethrower, nearly ending him. _**"Perhaps, but that wont convince me. I want to know... what is their friendship worth?"**_

Jacksons LP: 50

And then, Doe activated a spell: Destiny Awaits. _**"Hm?"**_ It forced him to send his field and hand back to the deck. Not that it made a difference, since the Yamato Gun ruined his field earlier. But in return he could draw cards from his deck, until he found a monster he could summon. Unexpectedly, he drew one such monster on his second try. Justine could also draw one card from her deck, because one card was added to her enemy's hand. She/he obtained a spell. "Now I can special summon..The Magician." His choice was the fiery spellcaster, Surtr (2400/1500). Destiny Awaits also allowed it to use an effect of his choice. "Monster effect!" Surtr activated its burning effect, and inflicted 1000 damage to the possessed Cable. The fire spread across his body, causing him great pain._** "I guess you wont hold back against your friend." **_Doe entered his second main phase and placed a trap card. _**"But you helped him as well, since you just allowed us to draw cards. Jackon, your resolve could use a little work." **_

Cable's LP: 2600

_Destiny Awaits, Normal Spell  
Send all cards on your field and in your hand (Including one 'Persona' monster card) back to your deck, and shuffle it. Then, pick up cards from your deck until you get a 'Persona' monster card, and special summon that monster on your side of the field. Then, choose one card type(Monster, Spell or Trap). The chosen type becomes the chosen effect of the 'Persona' monster summoned through this card's effect. All other picked up cards are added to your hand, and your opponent draws a number of cards equal to the number of cards you added to your hand through this card's effect._

Surtr could not attack in the same turn as it inflicted damage. So the turn had to be passed over to the heartless duo. _**"Hmm, draw." **_Immediately the duelist normal summoned a spy unit: Terran Ghost (1800/1000) to his side of the field. _**"Of course neither Ghost nor Firebat can match the flames of your Magician, so.."**_ And then she used the card that she had drawn with Destiny Awaits. _**"Its time to call for an aerial strike, the worst kind." **_It was the spell, Nuclear Strike. "Nuclear!" Such a name, it implied a great amount of devastation. _**"This card only works when Terran Ghost is on the field. I can skip my next battle phase and wipe out everything on your field" **_The Ghost soldier ordered an air attack, and then from the distance a sound was heard. "The bomb comes!" A hologram of a missile appeared, which struck the ground between Surtr and the Ghost. A nuclear explosion was unleashed, he lost everything to it. _**"I do believe this is it for you...the final round comes."**_

_Terran Ghost, 4/1800/1000 Warrior/Dark/Terran  
This monster cannot be chosen as an attack target if you control another 'Terran' monster on your side of the field. If this card is the only monster you control on your side of the field, and this monster is the target of of an opponent's card effect, you may discard one card from your hand to negate the effect and destroy the card and then remove this monster from play. If this monster is found removed from play during your standby phase, immediately special summon this monster in face-up attack position_.

_Nuclear Strike, Normal Spell  
You can only activate this card if you control a 'Terran Ghost' on your side of the field. Destroy all face-up cards on your opponent's side of the field. Skip your next battle phase._

The light died out, and the others no longer had to shield their eyes. That was when they could see that the Terrans had died in the blast as well. _**"Wait, how can this.."**_ She flinched and saw Jacksons trap card, which he activated as soon as his Symbol disappeared. "Destruction of One's Mind." He sent back to the deck, two Personae from the cemetery, to destroy two cards on her field. _**"You used the death of your personality to your advantage?"**_ Her last strike turned out to be fatal for both sides, and she already summoned a card this turn, she could not call forth a new unit to defend her slave. _**"Tsk, we end our turn." **_But chances were that he would not find the right card to finish her in time, since they had 2600 lifepoints left. So Doe drew again, it was the only card he had left. "..." He looked at it, and for a moment it almost seemed as if he wanted to smile. "Eh?" And then he used the spell, Evoker. "Oh, the revival card!" Colin had to face that one as well. "Now he can choose any Persona that died, and call it back."

And he did not need to think about it.. He chose his strongest: Odin (3000/1800). "This is..a lesson." And thanks to this spirit, he regained his regal tone of voice. "Justine, this Arcana mirrors your own intentions. The Emperor is the symbol which rules over its surroundings, a figure of authority. You liken yourself to be a ruler of minds, through games and machines you exert your control. But this is as far as your claws reach, your claim on this soul will be shattered by my hands! This is what I decree!" Then Odin raises his hand and summoned a spear of lightning which went right through Cable's shoulder. "!" The hit took out all of his lifeforce, and as such the Seal of Orichalcos reacted to its players defeat. The green light began to fade, and soon Doe would be released from it. However Justine was still smiling. _**"But Doe, if I lose control of this soul, then everyone does. Lets give it all to the gods of Project Zetto..."**_ The name was dropped again. "Damn it, what is this project of yours about anyway?" Colin yelled. "_**If I told you, the surprise value would be lost. Anyway, Cable is of no further use to me. And you already knew that this game ends with a sacrifice."**_ The seal started to shrink around Cable. "No!"

Cable's LP: 0

He reacted instantly, as he realized what she meant. Doe dove straight forwards. "What! Jackson, get out of there!" Nero had no idea what he was trying to do. "Is he suicidal!" None of them knew that Justine would win either way. Since the seal needed a loser, Cable's soul would still be taken away. And since Cable held the shard, so to would all of Jacksons personalities inside that fragment. _"Oh?" _However, he jumped up to snatch the jewel from his soulless friends hands, and shattered it against the unholy barrier. _**"No, you can't!"**_ Justine showed an alarmed expression for the first time, as the Orichalcum shard broke through the soulstealing energy field. The seal disappeared all together, and Cable collapsed to the floor. Several souls hovered near the ceiling. _**"Ggh, how did you know that the only thing that can break the seals magic, is the green mineral itself?" **_She rasped at him. "We didn't. We only wanted to release the souls trapped inside that stone, before they could be claimed. But this worked too... goodbye Justine."

The souls flew back into theor original bodies, his and Frasers. _**"Have it your way, this game was boring me anyway."**_ The hologram of Loveless was shut down. "Finally." Caine sighed. "Is everyone okay?" He turned around and asked just to be sure. "Are you?" Nero counter-asked. "We are." And he spoke in the voice that calmed him the most, the voice that went inside his head. "Arahabaki." If the Persona of The Hermit had returned already, then the others had to be safe as well. "Uhn." Even Cable sounded alive, for now. "What..did I do?" He groaned as he tried to stand. Doe crouched besides him and helped him up. "You had no hand in this, my friend. Your only actions were controlled." Fraser knew this voice too. "Ah..Jackson.. you made it, huh? Forgive me for what I did back there. I saw..it all." He looked very tired, every word was followed with a deep breath. "If you ask me, Justine should be the one to ask for forgiveness." Colin sneered, as he stared in random directions. Knowing his luck, he expected to spot her again. "Yeah, we should not let her get away with this." Cleo hissed. "We have no time for that! What if she called for reinforcements already, we have to leave this place now!"

With reluctance, they left the hallway, to take the route that Jackson had taken to get inside. There were no more interruptions along the way, no soldiers or slaves. "Guys!" And finally they met up with Carter, Rose and Zoro at the end of a long stairwell. "You are all..!" Nero was most pleased to see them again, even Ned looked like a sight for sore eyes. "You survived, wow." Colin was more surprised then overjoyed, while Cleo kept her distance. They were less stunned to see Cable. "So he was there after all, I imagine thats a long story." Carter said, and Fraser moaned. "Quite long." However the happiness of the trio was not longlasting. "Wait, you found them, and Cable inside? But what about Venice?" Nero gasped, he had forgotten about her. His mood was squashed when he remembered the girls fate. Jacob gave her a penalty game, shutting down her mind, allowing Justine to claim her for whatever nefarious plans she had in mind. "I checked all the cells." Doe said, still in his Hermit role. "Only they were inside. Cable alone showed up to intervene. She is not in this place, I am sorry." Christine lowered her head. "Thats..okay.." Though that fact was strange since Justine had said before, that she was in the company of four allies.

"Guys, we cant stay here for long you know. We can talk later, Anima is waiting for us." And Cleo twitched. "Anima? That asshole that abandoned us in 0013? He is still around!" Obviously she did not trust him by a long shot. "Also a long story, lets just tell each other on the ride." William walked through a nearby door. "Ride?" And curious as they were, they followed. Once they were outside, the image of a company blimp struck their eyes. "This is ours?" Colin had to touch it before he could believe that it was real. "We secured it, and used it to infiltrate Templesoft. Just like we did with the Tower. Was not very hard either, Justine must really be cheap when it comes to security. Now let's go inside." He opened the doors to the zeppelin. "Does anybody even know how to fly one of these?" Cable started to sweat. "Of course, Flight Simulator: Zeppelin Edition." Ned laughed and raced up to the cockpit. This did not tell Fraser whether he was joking or serious. But Ned at least knew how to lift off at least. Only once they were out of range of the dread Templesoft building, only then did they feel safe to exchange stories. How they escaped tower 0013, and how Nero's group escaped Atlantis. There was a lot to share

Naturally, Justine saw all of this happening, thanks to her spy camera's. But she was powerless to stop it. Unlike tower 0013, this place was not equiped with robotic aids that obeyed her every command. Not yet anyway. "Tsch, they used the same trick twice. I should have suspected them when.." Her train of thought was cut off by an incoming message. "Cadron." She greeted the incomer with as much loathing as she believed he deserved. "Heh, why hello Justine." She opened the screen and saw that wide toothfilled grin. "Simon requests your presence at 0013... You have been very naughty haven't you?" He flicked his finger. "What are you getting on about, I did nothing" She lied, she was already aware of the chances that SIM had also seen the duel between Cable and Jackson. The Seal had been used in that duel, SIM would have noticed. "But of course, I will come over." She said, while clenching her fist. "Good for you, just mind your temper. Your predecessor lasted six years, I would hate it if you did not even last half as long."

The window shut down, and she was left alone again. Well not quite alone. "Orders, madam?" A dark figure asked, covered by shadows. He was not alone either, others stood next to him. They were the three that helped her investigate the colosseum earlier. Their only distinguishable trait were that they all wore the same clothes, same coat and same hat. "A new game: track those kids, and take them down, blimp and everything." She said under her breath. "We shall." The figures bowed and then they disappeared from sight. _"Hmph. Those that mock me, will not live to tell about it."_

(To be continued in Testament 065: Triple your pleasure...)

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**  
_Destiny Awaits_

**New Cards used by Cable Fraser**  
_Terran Ghost_

_-_  
_Nuclear Strike_

_-_  
_Yamato Gun_


	65. Testament 065: Triple your Pleasure

Testament 065: Triple your Pleasure

Storytime ended. "So she really is dead." The demise of Ananka de la Isla was recorded in Tumaga's logs, but once Colin told them, they knew it was no lie. They did not even know if she had a proper burial. "At least you took Jacob down, she would have been happy to know that you did." Carter said to Nero. "Yeah, but..I..still feel as if he is not yet gone." Christine was not so sure either. "What if he left a seed in either of us?" She shivered. "You don t need to worry about that." Doe spoke, and Arahabaki was his voice. "I am still very sensitive to the presence of Jacob. We could not detect the parasite inside you, since we were trapped inside Orichalchum at the time. But now that we are free, we can feel it..he is not here anymore. We vanquished the main spirit, and you vanquished his remains." Nero nodded, but he still had some doubts. Was anything Jacob said true, where were his parents really? "Your story was a lot better than ours too." William sighed. How they escaped their doom at the tower, it was all rather simple.

"Doe had come after us. There was a second smaller blimp back at Outerdeck, this one right here." Since the towers energy reserves were still in shambles, he could easily sneak in. "And when did you meet Anima?" Cleo grumbled, wondering why he took so long to show up. "At the same time. He never explained where he was hiding though. But with Glyph on our heels. We did not ask." They had been on the run ever since. "Its even to late to ask for legal assistance, Tumaga struck first and put a price on all our heads...so to speak. The cops are after you, and us. Calling us terrorists even, releasing a coma-inducing plague on the arena area." They had wanted to find foreighn help, yet first they wanted to rescue Venice and Cable, whom they knew had been captured the next day.. "Well you found me at least." He sighed. "And where is Anima now anyway? Missing again..figures." Caine spat. "No he.. is on a mission...an odd one. He left us yesterday, saying he had to find a certain place. We would rendez-vouz today.."

Then Ned yelled across the compartment. "About that... We're almost at the place that Anima designated. I was just thinking: If we get Anima, can't we try to take on tower 0013 for the second time?" Jackson shook his head. "I said so already Ned, no such luck. They wont be fooled twice. Apparently they have a personal energy field around that island now. Anyone that breaks through it without the proper ID, gets his soul taken by the satellite." If anything they had to take that down first, but it was hard to get into space. "We need to go back there eventually. Atlantis is under the sea, and unless we find a submarine, their tunnel is the only way to get there. The future will be very bleak if we dont break that big crystal." Though the others had a hard time believing that they had actually gone to the future, they knew that Tumaga was very likely to create such a dreadful tomorrow. "Project Zetto..they mentioned it before. Probably only Kartel members know what that means. It has to be the reason for their soul collecting."

But then suddenly, the gondola started trembling. "The hell?" The vibrations went across the vehicle. "Whats happening, I can't see anything?" Need peered out the window, as did William. "Damn, we have a breach!" He cursed, what could have hit them? "Is that bad, are we losing gas!" Colin immediately started panicking. "No, this is a rigid ship. It wont lose gas from a mere scratch, nor will it collapse. But still, something that tore through the sides.." He turned around. "We had better check this out. There's a door in the back that leads to the cabins above, there you can see of the tear is dangerous or not. Check both sides if you can." He even gave them some communicators to stay in touch. The vessel was still rather big. Nero, Carter and Doe decided to check things out, the rest stayed below. Colin would rather not get near the gas chambers anyway. "Lets split up." Will said. "We will find it faster if we inspect opposite ends. I will check the hind cabins, Doe can stay at the centre, and Nero will look up front."

They nodded and headed towards their destinations. _"This feels strange." _Carter passed bar after bar, but saw no damage to the surrounding structure. "Maybe we just hit a bird, I don't see nothing yet." He spoke through the communicator. "Well I cant tell where we were hit, I need to calibrate the currents. Go further." Even through the comlink, Ned sounded demanding. "Yes sir." He chuckled and walked closer to the tail section. Still he saw nothing, but he heard something.. "Wh..Is anyone here?" It was as if something flashed right next to him, and then it was gone again. "Carter, what th.." Ned did not hear it though, and his voice was turned off. The communicator was blasted from Wills hand. "Owch, what the.." And then his stalker/assailant landed in front of him.

Nero was the one that located the tear, it was small rip in the cloth, and there was no damage to the zeppelins metal alloy. "That hole is a bit too big for an animal.." He trembled, someone or something close by started sending chills up and down his spine. He was about to tell the others what he had found, when he was cut off by a presence. A shadowy intruder stood in his way. Nero was shocked at first, but quickly realized what was going on. "You...did this?" It was not the same man that had attacked William, though its attire looked similar. He was a silent and faceless entity, framed by an oversized bland-colored trenchcoat and a fedora hat. That was about all that could be said.. "Who..are you?" The first question went unanswered, this one resolved the same way, as did the third. "How did you get here?" And eventually the fourth."What do you want?" They were all met with dead silence, however it did inspire movement. He or she pulled something out of his or her coat...a dueldisk. "What?" In fact, the dueldisk looked like it was attached to his/her arm. "Play with me." The entity spoke at last, revealing a hoarse but ladylike tone. "Play...or die." Nero of course had to accept his duel, since he did not like the idea of dying.

_"I should probably stall the intruder, until Doe gets here._ Ahem you can go first then. Ladies first." Even though he was not so sure if he faced an actual lady. He saw nothing human in his opponent, nothing at all. "No no no, you go first. I insist!" She said and drew her just five cards. "Oh..Okay then." This kind act disturbed him more then it comforted him. "I will play Convert Contact!" It was evident that he kept his Neos deck after the victory against Jacob. "I can discard Dark Panther and Aqua Dolphin from my hand and deck, to draw two new cards!" He did so. "Next I summon E-hero Wildheart(1500/1600). Thats all.." Her brown hat moved up and down, as if she was nodding in agreement. "My turn..." And then she placed three cards facedown, in her trap zone. "No monster cards?" This act surprised Nero, since it was usual for duelists to fight with monsters. That was the name of the game and all, Duel Monsters._ "Maybe she just had a bad draw" _He flinched as he thought that.._ "..or maybe she runs 'that' deck."_

???? LP: 8000 Nero's LP: 8000

Nero would not have it easy. He could not even draw and the enemy already activated her continuous trap: Curse of Darkness. "This permanent trap will damage us by 1000 points, every time someone plays a spell." And with her deck, she likely would not have that many spells. _"That leaves two trap cards. I guess if I attack with Wildheart first, I will be safe. But_.. I activate a spell card, Polymerization!" He activated a spell anyway, and the Curse took his life down by 1000 points. "I fuse Sparkman and Necroshade, and call out E-Hero Darkbright (2000/1000). Now both my E-heroes will attack!" But she activated a trap card, Embodiment of Apophis. He was a trap, but also a snake-like monster (1600/1800), and he took up both monster and trap zones. _"Trap monsters...I should've known. It is a trap deck."_ His monster may have been immune to traps, but he was not strong enough to take down one that had become a monster. "Darkbright, attack!" And she had more then one monster. "Hmm?" Another trap was flipped, a zombie dragon monster, Spirit Zoma (1800/500). "Oh boy.."

Nero's LP: 7000

The same stranger had confronted Will, he too pulled out his dueldisk and demanded a game. His coat however had a different color, a muddy green color. "Well where did you come from?" He wondered. "From the air." He responded offhandedly. That much should have been obvious. "Either you have a sense of humor, or...." He activated his dueldisk as well, since he did not think this guy would let him pass. "You are very concise." Both players drew five cards. "The latter would be more suited. I shall take the first turn as well, prepare yourself." He drew another card, and then he placed one monster facedown. "So you wont even bother with details then? Just straight to the duel.." Carter sighed and drew his card. He summoned a Nova Summoner (1400/800). "Well I suppose I will beat you first and then ask questions." He attacked with his angel card, and blew up his facedown. "That remains to be seen. We're on a tight schedule, and we dono t intend to toy around." But his facedown monster surprised Carter.

???? LP: 8000 Williams LP: 8000

It was an eagle of sorts, covered in crystals (1400/800). And the card did not actually die. The bird itself was burned to a crisp, but a crystal shard from its hide was left behind, placed in the magic/trap zone. "Hey that card was...Cobalt Eagle. This is...a crystal beast deck?" And William Carter knew about this deck as well, it had never been released. "Crystal Beasts. They turn into continuous spells when they die, intro crystals. The Eagle became a Cobalt gemstone." He said to the enemy, who nodded. "You know a lot. But you said they were never released? Surely you dont think that we are limited by such technicalities." The coated stranger said as he drew another card. It was his turn again. "After all, both companies have been merged. Whatever cards were not released to the public, we have access." He summoned another 'Crystal Beast' to the field, a tiger with a yellow gem on its forehead. "The Topaz Tiger(1600/1000)." William gasped, it was technically the strongest beast. "I see you know them all."

"Then you should also know that it gains 400 attackpoints when it attacks." The beast roared (2000/1000) and sliced through the Nova fairy with his claws. Of course, when Nova died he could special summon another to take its place (1400/800) "Then, if you have those monster cards, you have to be in league with Tumaga. I guess Justine or another Kartel member sent you?" The enemy did not answer and ended his turn. "My orders do not include: telling you things you dont need to know. Nor do they allow me to waste time with conversation. End turn" He stated. "I can see this will be a fun duel."

Williams LP: 7400

Meanwhile, Doe was in the middle of the cabin section, wondering why Nero and William had no returned yet. It was then that he too met his opponent, alas this one was not as gentle. _"He snuck up on me? ..." _Was all he could think before the dark one struck the back of his head with his elbow, producing a hard thud-sound. "Lights out, Persona Man. Time to take down a big moving object."

Ned was still trying to keep the blimp steady. With the tear in the side, it was getting harder to build speed. "Nearly there. Havent they patched it up yet?" For some reason, nobody responded to his calls. Carter had even broken his comlink apparently. "Huh, there you are?" He spoke to the one behind him, as he heard the door sliding open. "Hey wait, who.." But it was not one of his friends. Instead the third stranger had snuck up on him. He grabbed Nicolai by the collar and hurled him through the door into the gondola. There he landed between Cleo, Colin and Christine. "What the hell?" He got up immediately and took a closer look at the invader. He too wore an oversized coat, black as the night. "How did he get in here, why didn't you stop him?" He cursed. "Oh yeah, blame us. That guy blasted through here before we could even say anything." Cleo hissed back at him. "He came from the cabins." Rose told him. "Then he is the vandal, a stowaway?" He turned to the stranger. "Hey, I am talking to you, what the hell are you doing in here?"

But before he spoke a word back, he pulled a sharp pike from his sleeves and stabbed the motherboard.

"EY!" Ned rushed over to the control room, but he was pushed back again. "What do you think you are doing, I can't steer the vessel like that!" One glowing eye came from under the hood, staring right at Zoro. "Obviously. If you want to crash a plane, go after the pilot." He did not seem to mind that he had crippled the zeppelin. "Its better to take them all down at once, then to waste time with a duel." But Ned knew he could still fix this, if he could get passed the brute. "Out of the way!" He snarled, but the man did not budge. "We will fight you if we have too!" Christine shouted. "Amusing, are you sure you want that?" He pulled out his dueldisk, a purple version of the Orichalcos model. "If thats what it takes." He too revealed his dueldisk. "I will duel you and win." He had to hurry though, leaving the vessel out of control like this could lead them to crash into a something. "Hmmm, not the most exciting of duelists... but you will do. Are you ready Nicolai 'Ned' Zoro? Ready to face the power of Tumaga's best?"

????'s LP: 8000 Neds LP: 8000

(To be continued in Testament 066: Demon Gods)

**New Cards used by Red Stranger**  
Curse of Darkness  
Embodiment of Apophis  
Zoma the Spirit

**New Cards used by Green Stranger**  
Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle  
Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger


	66. Testament 066: Demon Gods

Testament 066: Demon Gods

It was Carters turn, in his duel against the mystery man. "I activate the field spell card: Sanctuary of the Sky." His first task, to illuminate the field with his field Sanctum. His second was a tribute summon. "Next I sacrifice Nova Summoner for Tethys, the Goddess of Light." An angel came (2400/1800) to the field, looking even more heavenly under the Sanctuary's light. "Destroy that crystal beast!" Tethys gathered holy mana between the palms of her hands, and released it as a wide burst. Her energy incinerated the Jewel Tiger, reducing it to minerals. And once again the remains of the tiger showed up in the spell/trap zone as a continuous spell. "You seem fearless against this new deck, William Carter. Regardless, your defeat is my only priority." The stranger drew again. "Well, I can guess why they want us dead. But I still dont know where you came from, I dont even know your name." He said. "I am allowed to answer that. You shall call me: Eidos." Will thought that sounded familiar "Eidos eh?"

Eidos's LP: 7200

"My turn... There are two 'crystals' on the field, that allows me to activate this spell card: Crystal Beacon. It will summon a third crystal beast to the field." He called out a green Turtle in defense mode. "Emerald Tortoise(600/2000)" And he also normal summoned a purple feline. "Amethyst Cat(1200/400) This card can attack directly, and its damage is halved." He explained as the Amethyst beast swiped across Carter with her nails. "And my Emerald creature can switch a monster back to defense, after it has attacked." The Cat went into defense. "Hmm thats one Crystal combo to make note off.."

Carters LP: 6800

Nero faced two trap monsters, he could only kill one. He decided to kill the Spirit of Zoma with Darkbright. "You fell for it." She cackled, as the twilight hero electrocuted the undead dragon. "I did? Darkbright does piercing damage you know." The female stranger lost 1500 lifepoints. "So? His ectoplasm will get revenge! Its strength will be equal to the pain it received." Suddenly Zoma's spirit came out of the monsters corpse. "!" It flew right through the E-hero, hitting Nero directly for 2000 damage. "It does counterdamage?" Apparently so, as much damage as his monster had attackpoints. "You must be enjoying this." He coughed and ended his turn. "Shouldn't I? I am facing the great Nero after all, the one who everyone is after." She rasped and drew another card. "So you know our names?" He was not all that surprised. "Of course. We learn the names of our targets, eheh." Her Embodiment of Apophis struck, cutting Wildheart in half, doing 100 damage at the same time.. "I wanted to duel you first, second place champion: Nero."

?'s LP: 6500 Nero's LP: 4900

She placed two more trap cards facedown. "I don't know if I should feel honored or not. I don't even know what you are." He activated the special effect of E-Hero Necroshade in his graveyard. He could normal summon an E-hero without tributes. "But since you are so interested, I will show you the power that defeated Jacob: E-hero Neos (2500/2000)" He summoned his seven-star alien warrior, to face this threat. "It attacks and destroys your monster!" The avatar of Apophis was no match for the E-Hero. After its vanquishing, nothing stood between her and him. "DarkBright, direct attack!" The dark and light hero struck next, and forced black lightning through the enemy's body. "Gyahahahaha, that feels good!" She did not mind. And in the middle of her electric experience, her fourth trap was activated: Des Counterblow. "But, if you make me feel this..you will have to suffer! Counterblow destroys all monsters that attack me! Directly!" Nero gasped, his fused warrior was done away with. "That felt good..I like you. You may know my name: Illya."

Illya's LP: 3600

"Illya?" Now he was certain that he was dueling a girl, but he still could not tell what was underneath that hat. Her voice still sounded too deep for a normal female. "I end my turn." He also noticed that she kept her hands on her deck at all times, and every time he declared that his turn was over, she drew in the blink of an eye. _"She's fast, impatient or just ..very enthusiastic."_ She activated a continuous spell card, Temple of the Kings. It was a rare card. "Hee, now I can use traps in my turn as well." She demonstrated the power of the Temple, by calling out a third trap monster from her hand. It was a metallic slime mold, the Metal Reflect Slime (0/3000). In the game of Duel Monsters there were only a few Trap Monsters, she likely had them all. "You have that one too, it has a good defense." He would need the power of fusion to get passed that. "Thank you.. I hope you can beat it. Because I want to see it..this power that beat Jacob. Show me the power of Contact Fusion, Nero!" Illya yelled. "You know about that too huh.."

Nero drew again. "Then you will get it...Contact Fusion." The woman seemed to be estatic. "Yes yes, this is it. I shall grind this power into dust!" First though he needed the second material. "I summon a Neo-Spacian, Glow Neos(300/900). And then I initiate Fusion. Neos and Glow.." He sent the Glowing sprite back to the deck along with E-hero Neos. "They combine into Glow Neos!" A brightly lit warrior (2500/2000) leaped onto the field. "His effect is: Once per turn I can destroy a card on the opponents side of the field." He explained as the Neo-Hero targeted Curse of Darkness, shattering it. "Depending on what I destroy, second effect happens. When I destroy a trap, it is switched to defense mode. Just like the Glow Moss's trap effect." Glow Neos switched to defense. That did not bother him, since he still had to get rid of Metal Reflect Slime. And he also had to kill that trap that destroyed all direct attackers. "Teheh.. is that it, is that what killed Jacob? He must have been reeeeeallllyyy weak."

"Hmmm... Now there is a drawback to Contact Fusion, it lasts for one turn only. Neos warriors have to return to the fusion deck at the endphase. But.." He activated an equipment spell: Instant Neospace. "With this card, I can keep my warrior on the field. So I end my turn." Illya drew a card. "Too bad for you, I have an even greater power then his, let me show it to you!"

Meanwhile the duel between Ned and the stranger had just begun, he got the first turn and drew six cards. "I set a card facedown, and I summon Shuttleroid (1000/1200) in attack mode. End turn." The opponent was not very impressed. "How cute, a space shuttle with toonish eyes." He drew as well, and entered his main phase. "Its not very intimidating when you compare it to this, Chaos Soldier!" He called out a demonic warrior, with a skullshaped helmet, a corpse-like armor and a cloak with throbbing veins (2000/1500). "This card can't inflict lifepoint damage, but your roid is still powerless against it." The fiend charged. "No damage eh, then I can simply do this!" Nicolai activated his trap card, Power Charger, drawing 2 new cards when a roid on his side of the field was attacked. "Next, I use the effect of my Shuttle. It can remove itself from play if the enemy targets it!" Shuttleroid blasted off, disappearing into the ceiling. Instead the Chaos Soldier sliced across Ned, but due to the soldiers effect, Ned lost no lifepoints. "Is that so?"

_Chaos Soldier, 4/2000/1500 Dark/Fiend  
Any Battle Damage this monster inflicts to your opponent becomes 0. If this card is face-up on your side of the field during your standby phase, you can select 1 [Chaos Soldier] in your deck or graveyard and place it on top of your deck._

"Then I set two cards facedown, and end my turn." When he was done, Nicolai began to smile. "By the way, heheh, Shuttleroid always comes back to the field if it removed itself. And every time it does, you will lose 1000 lifepoints!" The shuttle flew back to the field, and blasted the stranger with missiles. "So... a slightly deceiving appearance." Ned entered his main phase. "Activate spell card, Power Bond! I fuse Cycroid in my hand with another Cycroid, to call out Pair Cycroid, whose attackpoints are doubled by Power Bond!" A two-seat bicycle (3200/2000) showed up next to the defending Roid. "I could kill your soldier, but I can attack directly with this monster as well, if I reduce his attackpower by 500." The machine drove in front of the enemy, and was about to punch him. "No you cant do that either. Chaos Burst!" But suddenly he activated a trap and blew up his own monster card. "This trap sacrifices a fiend, to destroy an attacking monster." The twincycle was engulfed by flames, and so was Zoro. "Oh and the controller of the killed card loses 1000 lifepoints." He added with an amused tone. "Then another trap card, Call of the Haunted" Finally he revived the Chaos Soldier he had tributed, so in the end the enemy lost almost nothing.

?'s LP: 7000 Neds LP: 7000

_Pair Cycroid, 5/1600/2000 Earth/Machine/Fusion  
Cycroid + Cycroid  
This card can attack your opponent's life points directly. If this card attacks directly, decrease its ATK by 500 during the damage step_

"Even if my machine is destroyed, I still have to lose lifepoints for Power Bond." Nicolai grumbled as he lost 1600 lifepoints. "That did not go to well." Colin commented. "Shut up. I end my turn." At that moment, the Chaos Soldier activated his effect. "This card, if it is on the field during the standby phase, a second one can be placed on top of the deck." He drew it, and immediately summoned it (2000/1500). _"What does he want with two of those things? They can not inflict damage.."_ Rose began to wonder if these things had a third purpose, what would happen if all three of them were on the field? "They wont attack this turn, you would only remove that shuttle of your again. Instead a trap card will be your next challenge." He placed another trap facedown and ended his turn. "I will not fall for that again. Draw!" He looked at his hand, and a complex plan began to form in his brain. "Whatever your name is, keep your eyes..eye...on the field, this will be fun." He placed a trap. "I play the spell card: Heavy Storm!"

Neds LP: 5400

The others gasped, this storm would take down the enemy's traps, but also his own. "Heh. Dont look like that. My trap was supposed to be destroyed." He revealed the card: Wonder Garage. "When it is sent to the scrapheap, I can summon a 'Roid' from my hand." He special summoned an Ambulance Roid (300/1200). "Next, I normal summon Expressroid, this allows me to take two roids from my graveyard and add them to my hand." He picked the two Cycroids. "And there is Ambulance Roids effect, whenever I add a Roid to my hand from the grave, I can special summon them to the field!" So he special summoned the two Cycroids (800/1000) in defense mode. "He combined Ambulanceroid with Expressroid? Nice!" Cable could appreciate the combo. "Now, I have five monsters, even you can not kill them all. I end my turn." His Roid Army seemed very intimidating, strangely. "You truly are desperate to get back at the helm. In that case, lets shatter that hope of yours." The man, unphased, tapped a button on his arm.

Carter drew. The card he drew was an angel-type: The Splendid VENUS. Tethys closed her eyes at that moment and cast a light on his deck. "Ah. I drew a fairy-type, this means that I can draw again. Thats the effect of Tethys." He explained, as he drew a spell. "This I activate: Profane Transformation. I can special summon a dark monster from my hand, at half its power." He called Mefist, the Infernal General(900/1700). "Tethys and he will strike down your two crystal beasts!" The goddess obliterated Emerald Tortoise, while the hellish general cut down the Amethyst Cat. "Mefist has piercing powers too. Since your Cat has only 400 defense points, you will lose 1400 lifepoints. And when Mefist causes damage, you have to discard a card from your hand." He smiled. Eidos complied without hesitation. "Finally, I can still normal summon a card, so I sacrifice and Tethys to special summon VENUS!" He called out the armored angel (2800/2400). "Thats the end of my turn." He said with a smirk. "I see, very impressive. You duel..."

Eidos' LP: 5800

Just then, Eidos received a call. "Eh?" It came from him, the black stranger. "This is Xifos, the hunt is at an end. Illya is already planning to summon her special card, now you will do the same to wrap this up."

Eidos spoke back through the comlink, seemingly surprised. "You want to summon it already? I do not need it to finish my opponent." William wondered what card they were talking about. "Do not forget who leads this pack, it is not you. So do as you were told and summon 'it'!" Xifos growled before he terminated the transmission. "Nice guy." Will said, but Eidos did not reply. Instead he entered his turn, and placed his hand on the card that his superior referred too. "I regret this turn, Carter. I wished to defeat you with the power of crystals alone. Alas, I need to end this now." He removed three of his crystals from play, as he forwarded one card from his hand. "This card I am about to summon. It requires the sacrifice of three continuous spells, and the remains of the gem beasts are compatible." A demonid golden monster came to the field, one that overshadowed the entire cabin. "This is my Sacred card: Descending Thunder Emperor, Hamon. (4000/4000)" Carter could not believe what he saw, what he sensed.

And while he summoned his card, so did Illya. "Final Attack Orders." First she flipped her continuous trap. "You can not hide!" This switched all of Nero's monsters to attack mode, permanently "What are you.." Before he knew it, she had tributed her three continuous traps to special summon her special card. "This card calls for the sacrifice of three everlasting traps. I call out the Searing Flame Emperor: Uria!" A gigantic bloodred snake demon came from her dueldisk, its tail alone coiled around the entire framework of the zeppelin. "Uria?" Nero was shocked, he did not know this card, it felt truly awful. "And her power is a thousand times greater then all continuous traps in my grave, gyahahaha." There were six traps in her cemetery, so Uria was that strong (6000/0). "Die Glow Neos, die Contact Fusion!" Uria sent flames to devour the Glowing Hero. The duelist lost almost half of his life in that exchange. "Gyahahah, give up? I wont blame you, many have fallen already. To our demons that is.."

Nero's LP: 1500

And finally, Xifos called out his sacred demon, after he added and summoned the third Chaos Soldier (2000/1500) to the field. "This card requires the sacrifice of three demons. Chaos Soldiers be gone, come out Phantasm Lord Raviel!" A hulking blue titan arose inside the gondola (4000/4000), and it released an unworldly scream. Raviel was also very quick to waste the opposition, squashing Expressroid under its fists. "Heh." Now Uria, Hamon and Raviel all dominated the insides of the zeppelin. "These are the three sacred demons, Uria, Hamon and Raviel! And we...are the three sacred assassins of the Orichalcos: Xifos, Eidos and Illya!" He yelled as a familiar green light shimmered on their foreheads. "They have...Orichalcum?" Christine gasped. "Yes... this is a demongods duel to the death."

Neds LP: 1700

(To be continued in Testament 067: Down with the Ship)

**New Cards used by William Carter**  
Tethys, the Goddess of Light

-  
Sanctuary in the Sky

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
Elemental Hero Glow Neos

-  
Instant Neospace

**New Cards used by Ned Zoro**  
Shuttleroid  
Cycroid  
_Pair Cycroid (+)_  
Ambulanceroid

-  
Wonder Garage

_(+) Used by Cyrus in the YGO GX Anime_

**New Cards used by Eidos**  
Crystal Beast Emerald Turtle  
Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat  
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder

-  
Crystal Beacon

**New Cards used by Illya**  
Uria, Lord of Searing Flames

-  
Des Counterblow  
Metal Reflect Slime  
Final Attack Orders

**New Cards used by Xifos**  
_Chaos Soldier_  
Raviel, Lord of Phantasms

-  
Chaos Burst  
Call of the Haunted


	67. Testament 067: Down with the Ship

Testament 067: Down with the Ship

There were three duels going on inside the heart of the zeppelin, three assassins from Tumága, with three sacred demons each. "Trap Card: Crystal Raigeki." Eidos was the one who had not yet attacked with his. But he was about to. "For this card I sacrifice a crystal beast in my spell zone, Topaz Tiger, to destroy a card on your field!" He of course chose Williams only defender, Splendid Venus. The angels armor was pierced by electrified topaz shards. "Now..." And finally Hamon gave William a direct attack, forcing him to join the others in the low-LP club. "I have to reiterate, that I regret coming this far..."

"Hamon huh." Carter stared at the gigantic demon, his veined wings obscured the entire framework. "I guess it clashes with your main style, yet it works surprisingly well. But I have never seen a sacred demon card before." He drew his card. "You couldn't have, it was made by Tumaga itself... like the seal of Orichalcos." Eidos did not say anything else, leaving Will wondering where this demon god really came from. "It does look impressive, but can it resist this?" He removed three angels in his cemetery from play (Tethys, Nova and Venus) and one Fiend (Mefist). "I special summon The Sky Devil Lord: Enrise (2400/1500)." Eidos seemed impressed. "This card, you know what it does. Once per turn it can remove an opponents monster from play. And you probably can not stop that...so here it comes!"

Williams LP: 2800

Meanwhile Illya saw that there was still a monster left on the field: E-Hero Neos(2500/2000). ""Glow Neos was previously equiped with Instant Neospace. The spells second effect allows me to revive the basic Neos when Glow Neos was killed." Nero entered his turn, ready to counterattack. "I play the field card, Neo Space. Now the Neo fusions can remain on the field indefinitely" The floor at the gondola's front end adopted a cosmic background. "This is the permament effect, all Neos cards also gain 500 attackpoints." (E-Hero Neos: 3000/2000) But that was not yet enough, so he played a spell too "Cocoon Party! I can special summon as many chrysalis monsters from my deck as there are Neo-Spacians in my graveyard." There were two in his grave, so he summoned two cocoons. A Chrysalis Mole(700/100) and a Chrysalis Larva(300/300). "I can tribute all three of them for their Neo-counterparts, if Neo-Space is on the field!" The cocoons broke open to reveal their evolved forms: Grand Mole (900/300) and Flare Scarab (900/500).

Nero started to think his plans through. Grand Mole could send Uria back to her hand, but with a deck like hers, she would only resummon it next turn. He had to kill it with brute force. "So.. You already saw a standard Contact Fusion, this is the Triple Contact Fusion. I will combine Earth and Flame!" The Mole and Scarab fused with E-Hero Neos, to become a earthbound flame wielding warrior: Magma Neos (3500/2500). "And this card gains 400 attackpoints for every card on the field." There were 2 monsters on the field, one field spell and one continuous spell. It gained 1500 attackpoints (5100/2500). "Not enough!" Illya hissed. "No, but I have one more spell card: Neo Force!" He equiped his fused warrior with it. Magna Neos started to glow. "This boosts his attack force by 700, and of course Magma Neos gives itself an additional 400 points (6200/2500)." Now it was finally strong enough to defeat Uria. "And earlier you said that we were not the first to fall prey to the sacred demons. I dont need a number but..."

"..We will be the last to face these demons!" Ned yelled, as he was equally determined to defeat Raviel and his master Xifos. "Eh.. Try if you want." The assassin placed a card facedown and ended his turn. "I wont try, I will succeed!" He tributed two of his monsters. "I sacrifice both of my Cycroids for the 8-star machine card: Armoroid Gaidengo." Another shuttle appeared, one that transformed into something more humanoid (2700/2000). "If Gaidengo is tribute summoned with at least one 'roid' tribute, all traps and spells on the field are removed from play!" Xifos's facedown card was sent to another dimension. "Whats the point? Your Armored Droid can not equal the power of Raviel." He scoffed. "Also. Thank you for triggering Raviels special ability." Suddenly a token appeared next to Raviel, a second smaller Phantasm (1000/1000). "What?" Rose gasped. "Raviel can create Phantasm-tokens, every time the opponent normal summons a monster." Xifos explained. When Armoroird appeared, so did a token. "Oh yeah? Well I have this! Limiter Removal" Unphased, Ned played the quickplay spell, doubling the attackpower of all machines on his field (Shuttleroid: 2000/1200, Ambulanceroid: 600/1200, Armoroid: 5400/2000).

"Whoa, if he attacks now, he will win!" Colin was amazed. "He does not have any traps, so it should work!" A happier Christine said. "This is it!" Armoroid Gaidengo punched Raviel. "Enough! Attack Uria!" Nero screamed as his fusion warrior charged. "Kill it!" And Wills Enrise sent a black hole to banish Hamon from the field. Their combined attacks, blew smoke all over the place, and rocked the zeppelin. "Hey, take it easy up there, we need to keep this thing in the air." Cleo said loudly, while coughing. "Did it work?" Cable asked, as he could not see through the dust. A hat floated towards Ned, it was one of theirs. "Well that certainly hit home." And the owners voice came from the smoke, and then his face, and then his entire body. The endresult was farily startling "What the hell..are you?" His coat had been blown off, and they could now clearly see that he was not fully human, neither were the other two. They wore helmets and armor that resembled the Orichalcos Soldier attire, each had been modeled in its own style.

In fact their appearance was like that of the demons, Illya was crimson red, Eidos was a dirty gold, and Xifos was a dark blue. "What we are, we are the next step in Templesoft technology. Ensouled soldiers, adapted to any dueling environment. And.." He tapped the gem on his forehead, an Orichalcum shard. "Capable of resisting and abusing Atlantian magic, we harvest souls without the magic card of The Seal." And then to raise the tension, the sacred demon cards emerged from the smoke as well. All three of them, "What, we killed those!" Nero protested. "Hee, we had cards to protect us. These charms from Tumaga Inc." She revealed the card they had discarded, a card to safeguard Uria, Raviel and Hamon. It was clear now, why their attacks were all ineffective. "Damn it, so close.".

Xifos's LP: 3200 Illya's LP: 600

_Charm of the Fallen Martyr, 1/0/0 Light/Fiend  
Discard this card from your hand. Until the end phase, your face-up [Raviel, Lord of Phantasms] [Uria, Lord of Searing of Flames] or [Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder] do not receive battle damage and can not be affected by effect cards your opponent controls._

Ned was in trouble. His machines would all die in the endphase due to Limiter Removal. "I will not go down without a fight, you damn cyborgs!" He sent Shuttleroid to destroy the Phantasm-token. "Feh.." Xifos shrugged the attack off. "You are inferior lifeforms regardless. These bodies will last an eternity, and yours will wither away. Behold the flaws you carry." Finally Limiter Removal claimed Nicolai's machines, reducing them to scraps. This left his field wide open. "No, it can not end like this. That is not fair!" Rose shouted, but she knew she could not do anything to stop it.

The more properly defended Nero, ran out of luck soon afterwards. "Destruction of Destiny." Because in Illya's turn, she drew the card that would let her win. The Temple of the Kings was still on the field, so traps could be played in her turn. "I can the top three cards from her deck. If they are traps I lose LP." They were all continuous trap cards, so she lost 3000 LP. But Uria gained 1000 attackpoints for each of them (9000/0) "Its power is...limitless." Jacobus too, lost all hope. And Will was also as good as defeaten. "I would ask for your surrender, but you probably would not want to go down that way." Eidos asked the duelist, as he summoned Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth (1700/1600) to the field. William shook his head. "I thought as much. You dueled well, but you never stood a chance. At the very least a Crystal Beast will deal the final blow. Hamon.." The golden demongod raised his claws. "Slay, Uria!" The crimson dragon charged flames. "End it, Raviel!" The blue demon charged his fist. "You lose!"

And the three sacred assassins finished off their respective opponents, with thunder and flames.

Neds LP: 0 Nero's LP: 0 Williams LP: 0

"Now then." A minute later, they rounded up everyone inside the gondola, the barely-conscious Doe, Ned and Nero were tossed against the wall. "Does anybody else want a crack at us?" Illya laughed, she could not wait to summon Uria again. "Or will you do the wise thing, and yield? You wont suffer if you allow us to take your souls." Eidos spoke in a calmer tone. "Tsch, they deserve nothing less, especially Nero. Too bad that Illya got to duel him." Xifos rasped, he apparently wanted Nero all for himself. "In fact, forget the duel." Suddenly eh shot another spike from his arm, and punctured the gas cells above. "What are you doing!" Ned found enough energy to shout out and panic. "If we lose gas, the blimp will crash!" Rose panicked as well. "And we're flying above a city, what about the people below!" She cried. "Thats their problem. We have to erase all traces to Tumaga. Anyway, now we will claim your souls and let your bodies blow up in our tribute to the Hindenburg." Xifos turned on Nero. "You will die first!"

He grabbed him by the collar, and the gem on his forehead started to glow. "You will do no such thing!" But then suddenly, someone else appeared inside the gondola. "Huh? Where did he come from?" The three cyborgs stared at the newcomer. "Let him go." Anima said, as he clenched his fist. "Its him, the final survivor." Eidos said, after he scanned the newcomer with his right arm. "Anima eh? The one that allowed these rats to escape in the first place." Xifos eyed the opponent. "Its a neat trick, for a weakling." Illya hissed, and advanced on him. "You will release him now, or I will have to use lethal force." He was not intimidated. Probably because an invisible energy field started to surround him. "Tsch, that will not work again." However The three assassins released a strange soundwave from the gemstones on their heads, and suddenly Anima's body started to feel like it was on fire. "Gggh, whats ..this?" He felt pain, he was forced to release the barrier and drop to one knee. "We explained them alread.

"We can resist Atlantian Magic with our shards." And as Anima's aura was dispersed, Cable realized what this meant. _"Anima uses...Atlantian magic?" _Feeling safe to ignore the newcomer, Xifos returned all his attention to Nero Jacobus. "Time to become one with your maker." However their enemy was not beaten yet, Anima's aura changed. "If thats the case, then I shall have to be indirect." And he targeted all three assassins with his energy. "Hey whats he doing, whats he doing!" Illya looked at her glowing hand, and tried to scrub the mana off. "This is not the same... no stop him!" Eidos ran another scan, and understood what he was trying to do. "Fine, he will go first!" Xifos dropped Nero to the floor, and charged Anima. But he was to late. "Heh." Before they knew it, he had used magic to shift them to another place. "What?" One minute, they were inside the gondola of the blimp, the next they found themselves in mid-air, miles above the city. "Oh." And next, all three of them fell down into the depths.

Back at the zeppelin, Anima could finally breathe freely, knowing that the threat had stopped. "What did you do?" Cleo waved the air where illya once stood, she was really gone. "Teleportation, that will work against them." He wheezed. "I thought you could only do that if you held unto Nero's millenium puzzle pieces." Colin said loudly. "But we know that the puzzle was left behind at Atlantis." Nero said to him. "I did not, Nero. I just sensed that you were in danger. For some reason as soon as your vehicle came in sight, I could use the technique again. Its a good thing we arranged a meeting here." Just then the gondola started to tremble. "Oh now what?" Cleo hissed. Christine looked through the window and gasped. "We're losing height, and balance!" Of course, the vehicle was losing gas, ergo fuel. And as if he was hit by a kettle of smelling salt, Ned stood up. "What, the breach?" And he raced to the cockpit, pulling the pike from the console board. "Crap, crap, crap. We will crash like this." He mashed every button he could find.

"Nicolai, its okay, Anima can teleport us to safety!" Carter said, but Zoro shook his head. "We are still over the city, and this thing still has another gas container. The crash will surely rupture it, and cause a huge explosion. Sure we will be safe, but the people below will... we cant take the risk" He resumed his frantic attempts to repair the controls. "No use, auto-pilot is gone, only manual steering is online. At this rate, I can keep this thing straight for a few more minutes... get this thing to a place where it can crash without killing anyone." The others started to look more hopeful. "Well then we have to stay here and make sure that it works." Ned shook his head again. "I can't let you do that, the ride will get rough pretty soon. I am not even sure if it wont crash right now. Only the pilot has to stay behind, and only I can steer it."

William flinched. "What are you saying? Anima can teleport you away at the last second, can't you?" But Anima had to drop some bad news. "I only have enough energy left for more then one trip... Those threee... took a lot out of me." He could barely stand. "...we cant abandon you!" Despite all the cries and pleas, a silent nod from Ned was enough to get the process started. "Okay." And then just like that, they were gone. Teleported to ground level through the magic of Anima. Nicolai 'Ned' Zoro was left behind to steer the doomed vessel. "Sorry guys, it has to be this way. Heh it makes me want to wish that I didn't play games so much" He sighed, and looked ahead. "My knowledge is my curse... games truly will be the death of me.."

(To be continued in Testament 068: Dagger of Damocles)

**New Cards used by Ned Zoro**  
Armoroid (Gaidengo)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
Chrysalis Larva  
Chrysalis Mole  
Magma Neos

-  
Neo Space  
Neos Force

**New Cards used by Xifos**  
_Charm of the Fallen Martyr_

**New Cards used by Uria**  
_Charm of the Fallen Martyr_

-  
Destruction of Destiny

**New Cards used by Xifos**  
_Charm of the Fallen Martyr_  
Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth

-  
Crystal Raigeki


	68. Testament 068: Dagger of Damocles

Testament 068: Dagger of Damocles

To ensure the survival of others, and the citizens of the city, Ned piloted the zeppelin away as it started to break down. And Anima teleported everyone else a few miles from the nearest city. "NO!" Carter shouted. "You...you did it anyway?" Cleo couldnt believe it. "Oh thank god.." Meanwhile Colin dropped to the floor to make sure that he really was out of that deathtrap. "Sweet sweet solid ground." But their confusion and happiness was disrupted when they saw the zeppelin flying over their heads, from the outside it looked even worse, it was on fire. "No, Ned!" William screamed, Christine could not bear to watch, and Cable lowered his head. By now the zeppelin had reached safety at last, but it was hard to tell if the fire had filled the cockpit as well. "Cant you do anything?!" Cleo hissed at him. "Ggh, if I could I would, but...I am.." He was simply incapable of teleporting again, he was out of energy. "Maybe he can..survive this..maybe there is a parachute on board that he can use. I mean he is in a safe....."

At that time the second gas tank was apparently damaged, as the blimp exploded in a hellish burst of flames. One that drew attention from the entire city. "Damn!" There did not look like any hope was left for Nicolai. "First Ananka, Now Ned...it isnt fair!" Christine cried. "Damn it Ned, why did you have to be a hero, why did you have to be so smart!" Carter cursed. He felt mad enough to punch the nearest wall. "We need to move." Anima said immediately. "What? But we have to check if.." There were objections, but Cable raised his hand. "Do you think anyone could have lived through that? And those assassins will track us down if we go there, they dont know we teleported out of it." As far as the cyborgs knew, the humans all died along with the ship "We need to alert the authorities, and get some more people on our side. Thats what Ned would want us to do." He explained, and they understood, kind off. "As soon as Doe and Nero wake up, we move out." Carter looked at the burning wreck and clenched his fist. "Damn you Tum'aga... damn you."

At the same time, on the other side of the planet, there was a small cottage. It stood in the middle of an exotic resort, on an island far away from civilization. The man who lived there had hoped to stay away from major cities and big names, as he was one of the most renowned art thieves in this world. He had swept through all the continents, plundering museums, temples and tombs. With the riches he gathered, he had bought himself this paradise, where he kept the true beauties for himself. Unfortunately for him, nobody was out of reach when it came to Tumaga's intelligence. A loud beating sound woke the man up... "The hell?" Against the rising sun, the shadow of a helicopter set on his island. The chopper landed in the middle of his garden, and blew crops everywhere. From the vehicle a man stepped, a man with greasy hair: Glyph.

"Heh, here at last." He looked younger then usual, and more formal. Aside from the two smilie-buttons on his chest, he had replaced his street performer outfit with that of a business suit. That much was expected of the new senior partner in Tum'aga. This was nor ordinary bussiness meeting though. "Glyph, remember that we dont have all the time in the world. Simon may feel like spoiling you, but the Kartel wont wait forever." Ivar was with him inside the chopper, he stayed behind with the pilot. "We have a meeting soon anyway, we leave in one hour. With or without you." Glyph merely smirked. "Relax, Thorne, it wont last that long. And I am sure that I can find my special item here. I can almost taste it." He licked his lips and walked up to the house. The infamous thief came out from the cottage, wearing his fancy robe..and a shotgun. "Get off of my property!" He barked and fired a warning shot at the ground before Glyph. Ivar flinched, but Glyph remained indifferent "Now now, no need for that. I am only here to get a small thing."

"We are all family here..." Pulled out his millenium rod. As soon as he saw this thee man dropped his weapon, and reached for his necklace instead. "It's you... one of you!" On his necklace was a golden amulet, and within was encased, a small golden cube. It was clear for Glyph, this was the final piece of the puzzle. "Stay back, your tricks wont work against this talisman!" Glyph lowered his staff. "I see you know a thing or two about these items." He chuckled. "I am... Someone else approached me once before, someone with more of those pieces. So yes I know.. but he did not get it either." The street mage tilted his head and frowned. "Other man huh... " Sadly it was true that even one piece of the puzzle was enough to negate his rods powers. The first of seven items was the most powerful. "Well, how did you get him to go away. Maybe it will work again." He asked, and the thief blinked. "Ha! He tried to duel me for it, the fool. He did not know that this thing blesses people with unbreakable luck. Neither did I..until that game."

"Since then I have been using it for gambling instead of theft.. but enough about me. You wont get it, take your tricks elsewhere." The villain did not move. "A duel you say, what a coincidence...I duel too!" He raised his other hand, and summoned cards from thin air. "How about..a game?" The thief/gambler blinked again. "You want to duel?" He shook his head and began to smirk. "Well, be my guest!" He pulled out one of many dueldisks "I even feel generous enough to give you the first turn. _It wont matter anyway, I always draw the cards I need for a one-turn kill. He would have been better of challenging me at chess." _So Glyph drew, and he placed a monster in facedown defense mode. and a trap card. "Is that all. Heh you dont stand a chance like that." He did not even wait for the enemy to declare the end of his turn, and drew again.

"Here it comes, stranger, my first-turn-kill!" But now his opponent began to smirk. "Is that so? Why don't you look at your hand for a change?" The collector snorted, thinking he did not even need to see his cards, his lucky talisman never failed him. "Wait, what?" Until today. "That ..can not be...half of the cards I need, are missing!" He was infamous for many first-turn comboes. He planned a Gear Golem OTK for this guy, complete with Shield and Sword, Megamorph and Limiter Removal. He drew the last three cards, but not a single Gear Golem. "Confused?" Glyph laughed. "Shut up." He grunted and special summoned a Cyber Dragon (2100/1600) from his hand and normal summoned a Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600). "Ha! This here Cyber monster will block any attempts to target my cards with effects." He attacked with his metallic Phoenix, intending to hit Glyph directly with the dragon. "I know what it does." He however flipped his trap, Magical Hats, which did not target. "The hats, you use that outdated card!?"

Three hats showed up, one was actually his defending monster. The other two were tokens (0/0) made from trap cards he had to take out from his deck. "Tsch, the chances of me missing are nonexistant!" His cyber machines attacked, blowing up the left and middle hat. Yet to his dismay, he found out that he had indeed missed. The monster did not die. Instead he killed a Statue of the Wicked-trap, which left behind a Wicked Token (1000/1000) when it was sent to the grave. The other destroyed card was a Dark Coffin. When that one was destroyed, the destroyer would either have to kill a monster on his field or a card in his hand. "This is..I can not have bad luck!" He discarded Sword and Shield. "I can not!" The man tapped his talisman, to make sure that it was on. "Well your trinket looks nice..but personally, I prefer mine." And then Glyph pulled out his lucky charm. It was a nearly completed Puzzle. "That is.." He gasped. "Yes, the first item. Your talisman is a part of this, and one single piece can not compete with all the others."

The man grunted and placed two cards facedown. "I can't wait to get your puzzle then. I will ask nothing less from this duel" He sneered and ended his turn. "I doubt that you have waited as long as I did, but.." Glyph drew again, and his grin grew even wider. "One of us wont wait any longer." First he sacrificed the token for a six-star monster: Magical Marionette (2000/1000), then he flip summoned his facedown monster: Gearfried the Iron Knight. "I think it is time that you saw my one-turn kill." And finally he played a spell card: Butterfly Dagger Elma. "No way!" The thiefs jaw dropped. "Oh? You know what this card does?" He chuckled. "Of course, I know! That card was banned, all copies of it were burned!" The dagger-card was one of even darker past then Exodia. "Connections, my friend, connections and collections. Lets begin shall we?"

The dagger was equiped to Gearfried. "No.." He knew how the combo worked: Gearfried, the Iron Knight would destroy any equipment spell attached to himself. The dagger returned to a players hand if it was destroyed during its activation, like with Gearfrieds current rejection of the spell. So every time it was destroyed, it would come back. All the while Magical Marionette gathered spell counters, every time a spell was activated: Elma's activation. Its attack went up by 200 for every counter. "Stop.." In the end it had accumulated over 60 counters (14000/1000). The thief was not even allowed to place hope in his M/T zone. "Megaton Magical Cannon." As Glyph used a spell cannon, sacrificing ten counters on the puppeteer (12000/1000) to destroy his opponents field, all machines and all traps. "This ends the performance, I hope you enjoyed it." Marionette attacked with his overpowered puppet, and crushed the man in one strike. "Now you hand the final piece over to me, or you will face the consequences."

Thiefs LP: 0

He extended an open hand, his eyes glowed with greed. But he refused. "No, I wont give it to you!" He grabbed hold of the talisman and hid it in his hands. And he shuffled closer for his shotgun. "Pity." Glyph sighed. "I can not accept that attitude. If you wont pay me, I will double the interest." Suddenly he showed up behind the man, grabbing him by the arm and mouth. "And I have been waiting for a long long time, I will force it out of you!" The energy drain started, his victim never had a chance to scream. His lifeforce was drained away, sucked into Glyphs vampiric and ancient body. The man dropped to the ground, while the mage looked a decade younger. "Your welcome." He wiped his mouth, as if he had fed on actual blood, and pried the last puzzle piece from his rotting hands.

"That trick, one day you will have to tell us where you learned it." Ivar said, walking up to the victorious Glyph. "You would care for a little immortality yourself eh?" He picked up his rod. "..No comment." He turned back to the chopper. "Come, they are waiting for us. Simon requested that the puzzle be completed in the presence of every Kartel member." He boarded the helicopter. "And I would not want to disappoint my partner. I am sure that the completed puzzle will have a lot of interesting things to tell me." He added sarcastically and kept his eyes on his prize. After so many years, he finally found the key to the ultimate treasure.

Back at the duelists location, Doe woke up after half an hour and Nero followed a minute later. The zeppelin was still burning in the distance, and Neds fate looked to be certain. "We still have to check!" It appeared that some were more adamant on helping Nicolai, than themselves. "Nero, think! We wont do him any justice if we let ourselves get caught there." Carter said, even though a part of him wanted to go there as well. "The authorities can handle it, there's already a dozen of fire trucks and rescue workers present anyway." Cable explained. "And we're wanted by them arent we? How do we get near the cops if they want us in prison!" Colin wondered. The arguments went on for a while, but Doe kept staring into the sky, seemingly ignoring their words. "Jackson, whats wrong?" They noticed and looked up as well. "...No." An instant later it was flooded with an ominous green light, the same light that hit the tournament. It spread as far as the area around it, reaching even the crash site.

"It cant be!" They only survived because they were even further away than the blimp landed. "The satellite again!" Of course they recognized the beam of pale light that never failed to claim a soul. "This is crazy, now they start hitting major cities too, dont they care about who knows anymore?" Nero cursed. "I think, they wanted to capture us, no matter what." Christine moaned, if that was true it was their fault that the city had been targeted. Anima however knew there was a different reason for this event, yet he kept his voice down for now. "Damn it, Ned gave his life to save them, and now they end up dead anyway." But Doe shook his head. "No, it was not in vain. We can save them again, this fate is reversable. As was mine and Cable's" He spoke with the voice of Arahabaki, the voice they were used too, and the voice that escaped The Seal. "Ggh, why were we near this place anyway? Oh thats right, you wanted us to come here." Cleo pointed at Anima. "Why did we go here, if you waited for us at an open spot, none of this would have happened." She hissed. "No you dont understand, Anima found something here... right." Carter suddenly stepped in between. "It was of great importance and.."

As did someone else.. "You went to that place already? Good thing we hit it then." And then the voice of evil echoed over the road. "So we can assume that they did not want to find the authorities until they had evidence against Tumaga. Which was why they attacked Justine's place, and why she had to send us after them." Three figured darted across the area, landing around the group of seven. "One died, but so many remain. Lets take them down for good." Illya, Xifos and Eidos had tracked them down once more. "Crap, how did you find us?" Colin asked, as he stepped behind Anima. "We scanned that blimp from afar. And the scans did not find your bodies at the crash site afterwards, so you had to be alive. Neat trick with the teleportation by the way." Xifos laughed. He pointed out a jetpack engine behind his cape. "We can enter flight on our own power, thats how we entered the zeppelin in the first place. We did not stow away and hide." Eidos said. "And you had to be close by... I fear this is the end of the road for you..."

(To be Continued in Testament 069: Once a Nobody)

**New Cards used by Glyph**  
Gearfried the Iron Knight  
Magical Marionette

-  
Butterfly Dagger - Elma

-  
Dark Coffin

**Cards used by The Thief**  
Cyber Dragon  
Cyber Phoenix

-  
Sword and Shield


	69. Testament 069: Once a Nobody

Testament 069: Once a Nobody

"Lets do this." The three assassins advanced on the duelists. "I believe we were about to kill Nero, Carter and..oh he is dead already." Illya cackled. "They are welcome to try again." Xifos activated his dueldisk. "Not that those two are in a position to duel again." Eidos said. Some were ready to challenge them, others were less willing. "It does not matter who takes who, as long as Nero dies first." Xifos stared at Jacobus, his eyes almost looked like they were made from pure hate. "You seem to loathe him a lot. I wonder why." But Anima was the one who stepped up, he activated his dueldisk before anyone else could. "He can not duel, weakened as he is. You will have to take it up with me." The black assailant took a step back. "You dare to intervene, again?" He turned the crimson glare towards him instead. "You too are exhausted. You can not teleport, so you insist on defending your friends.." Eidos seemed to accept a game, but Xifos raised his hand to stop him. "Its clear what he wants, and if he wants a duel, his opponent will be... " He tossed his cloak aside, and inserted the cards into his disk. "You." Anima finished the sentence, and did the same. "What about us?" Ilya hissed. "This can be done alone, you have a different task."

Xifos's LP: 8000 Anima's LP: 8000

"This is not a convined area. If we all duel at once, the rest will flee." Illya and Eidos nodded and went to the left and right. "If you dont need assistance..fine" They surrounded the others, making sure that nobody would succeed in running away. "Awww" To Colins displeasure. "Well, its time to introduce you to the power of chaos, Anima." Anima drew five cards. "Since you missed the actual duel that crushed the nerd." He drew six. "Stop talking about Ned that way!" Carter could not help but yell. "You are not in a position to talk back, William, use that voice when you fight." Then he turned back to Anima. "Normal summon; Chaos Core." He summoned a demonic critter with batlike wings, scorpion tail and a pulsating orb in the center(0/0). "This card, absorbs the souls of powerful demons, sending their bodies to the grave." He cackled, as the orb took up a bloodred glow. "It absorbs Wicked Avatar, Wicked Dreadroot and Wicked Eraser." He discarded three wicked devil cards from his deck, and the Chaos being gained 3 counters.

_Chaos Core, 1/0/0 Dark/Fiend  
When this card is normal summoned, you can send 3 level 10 or higher fiend-type monsters from your deck to the graveyard to place 3 counters on this card. By removing 1 counter from this card, you can make the battle damage this card takes from 1 battle 0._

"Thats all." Anima meanwhile made sure to read the effect of the card. "Three counters translates into four lives." He normal summoned a slithering shadow, a Creeper Nobody (1000/700). "Ah yes, the Nobody deck, Marcus told the Kartel about that one. Your invention right, Cable?" Xifos asked the man. It was true, but Cable only just now found out that Anima was using it. "Go." The Creeper lashed out at the Core, and naturally, its attack was blocked by the sacrifice of a counter. The soul of Wicked Eraser jumped out to negate the attack, and two counters remained. "Did that display satisfy your eager mind?" Anima did not answer, he merely ended his turn. "Thought so. Lets reveal the second part of this chaotic showdown: Normal Summon the Phantom of Chaos!" Next he called out a shapeless entity, transparent and untouchable (0/0) "This card has no powers of its own. But once a turn it can integrate the souls of the fallen." It became clear that he used Chaos Core to dump cards that his Phantom could copy.

_Creeper Nobody, 3/1000/700 Fiend/Light/Nobody  
When this monster is destroyed as a result of battle, you may special summon a lv.6 or lower 'Nobody' monster card from your hand._

"Watch." The spectre took a solid shape, an ash black version of the Devil Wicked Dreadroot "The avatars stats and effects have been revived inside this demon. Dreadroot has four thousand of them (4000/4000). Also, Dreadroots own effect is to half an enemy's attackpoints, so your monster is weakened!" The Creep powered down by half of its attackpoints (500/700) "Now feel its power!" And it was soon destroyed by the black Devils physical assault, though Anima lost no LP. "You forgot to mention that the Phantom cant reduce lifepoints." Eidos added. "Tsch, you have no sense of drama, Eidos." But once the smoke cleared, Xifos became a less happier assassin. "And you ignored the part where this Nobody can summon another to take its place." A new fiend showed up; a towering white Berserker Nobody (2400/1000)

"My turn." Anima said, after Xifos placed a trap card down. "Your cards are certainly impressive, Xifos. Tumaga gave them to you, I assume?" He drew a card. "Yet I wonder, why you changed your appearance so willingly, going from human to machine is no easy task." The same went for the red and yellow assassins as well. "For power of course." He explained. "Our human selves were discarded, along with our human flaws. The soul deserves a better guardian, not a mortal vessel." Anima merely raised an eyebrow. "I wonder. And I normal summon Larxene, the secondlast member of Organization XIII." A blond nymph (1700/1000) showed up on the field, armed with half a dozen knives. "Her effect will stop you from summoning more Chaos Cores or Phantoms of Chaos."

_Berserker Nobody, 6/2400/1000 Fiend/Light/Nobody  
When this monster is removed from the field, choose 'Nobody' monster card. Increase that monster's attack and defense by 800._

_Organization XIII-Larxene the Savage Nymph, 4/1700/1000 Dark/Light Warrior/Nobody  
As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all monsters with an attack equal to 1300 or less that are summoned on your opponent's side of the field are automatically destroyed._

"Then... Normal spell card: Nobody Swam. By tributing a Nobody, I can special summon two Nobodies from my deck whose combined level is lower than the tributed card" His Berserker left the field, it was a level 6 card. It was replaced by two fiends from his deck: a level 4 Dusk Nobody(1800/1550) and a level 2 Sniper Nobody (1300/1700). "But before he leaves, the Berserker adds a bit of his power, to another Nobody: Larxene." The girl became even more savage (2500/1000). "Three monsters, that should take care of his remaining counters." Christine hoped for the best, but there was still a trap waiting. The Nobody trio charged. "Negate it!" Chaos Core summoned the souls of Devils Avatar and Dreadroot to negate the first two attacks, but it left the demon without counters. "Neither card is protected." Finally, Larxene shot lightning to finish the Phantom. "Chaos Burst!" Unfortunately, Xifos responded with his trap. "I can tribute a monster card to destroy your monster and inflict 1000 damage!" He sacrifuced Chaos Core to destroy Larxene and burn Anima's lifeforce. "Ugh. Should have seen that coming." He sighed, placed a trap card. "But you did not, and thats where Raviel comes in.."

Anima's LP: 7000

_Nobody Swarm, Normal Spell  
Tribute one 'Nobody' monster card on your side of the field, special summon two 'Nobody' monster cards on your side of the field from your deck whose level is lower than the tributed monster. The selected monster cards can not attack directly this turn._

"Its time to summon the greatest demon, tribute number two, here..." He activated Devils Sanctuary, and was about to special summon a metal-fiend (0/0). "Trap card: The Brink of Despair!" However, Anima countered. "This is a revival trap, and I used it on Larxene." The nymph returned once more (1400/1000). "What? No!" Her effect activated, and she threw a knife at the token with less then 1300 attack, killing it before it could take a solid shape. "You wont summon Raviel, not as long as she is around." Xifos grumbled. "Then she will have to die again, wont she?" Phantom of Chaos integrated the Wicked Avatar. The avatar had the power to always be stronger than the enemy by 100 points. The strongest card on the field (Dusk Nobody) had 1800 points. "Be gone, Savage Nymph." The electric Organization member was once again sent to the cemetery, this time by the black avatar(1900/1550) in battle. Xifos placed two spell cards facedown. "Raviel will come out, no matter what you do." He claimed and ended his turn.

_The Brink of Despair, Normal Trap  
Special summon one LV.4 monster with 'Organization XIII' in its name from your graveyard._

"So you say. But what if I happen to discard that card from your hand?" He asked with a grin. "?" First Anima entered his battle phase. "Dusk Nobody kills the now effectless Chaos Phantom, while the Sniper attacks directly". Xifos took the hit with reluctance. And then he revealed his intentions. "Xaldin!" He tributed the Sniper, for the third member of the Organization. He called out the lancer whirlwind, the master of dragoons, Xaldin (2000/1500) "Since you said that you would summon Raviel next turn, I can assume that you have it in your hand. Now.. when Xaldin does not attack during a turn, I can pay 500 LP and activate one of his many powers. Among other effects, one allows me to discard a card from your hand." And since he had only 2 cards in his hand, he had an even chance at hitting it. "You think you can find it?" He grunted. "We will see wont we?" He payed 500 LP and forced the enemy to discard his left card. "You may fool the others, but I can see you for what you truly are."

Anima's LP: 6500 Xifos's LP: 4900

_Organization XIII-Xaldin the Whirlwind Lancer, 5/2000/1500 Dark/Light/Wind Warrior/Nobody  
During your end phase, if this face-up card has not declared an attack during this turn, you can pay 500 LP and activate one of the following effects:  
- Destroy a face-up monster card on the field.  
- Destroy a spell or trap cards on the field.  
- Draw a card from your deck.  
- Discard a card from your opponent's hand._

You are still acting, still pretending to not feel fear. But I know why you hate Nero so much." Xifos flinched. "You figured it out?" He rasped. Anima nodded. "I sensed it, because Jackson sensed it...Edgar." Xifos flinched. "Edgar?" The others yelled in unison. "That douchebag?" Cleo was surprised the most. Jackson remained silent though, which was usually a sign of bad news. "That cant be right, Jacob had sent his soul... gave it a penalty game.." But then Nero remembered that Rose had survived her penalty game, so could he have survived it as well. "Edgar huh? I bet that shadowgame-whatever-experience made him run home to Tumaga Inc and beg for a better deck." Colin laughed, albeit nervously. "Then who.." He looked at Eidos and Illya. Xifos/Edgar raised his hand again. "So, you knew. That was expected of Doe, so in turn it had to be expected of Anima." He turned his card over. "But you dont know everything, do you?" The card in his hand was not Raviel. It was a random trap card.

"You missed completely, Raviel was not even in this hand, and you believed it anyway." He discarded the card "Anima, your secret is no longer existant, not against one that has access to Tumaga Archives. If you want to hear the story of Edgar Diamond, then everyone should know the story of Anima as well, or at least the source of your...stolen powers." His turn started and he drew. "On second thought. Lets begin with the better story. It was of course all Nero's fault." Xifos began his tale. "Tum'aga knew that a being like Jacob would be drawn to the tournament. They said that the game had ties to the ancient games of Atlantian and Egyptian times." He explained, causing Cleo to wretch. "Oh come on!" She hissed loudly, but the rest continued to listen. "Once 'Edgar' was freed from the penalty game, a not to refreshing experience he will tell you, he returned to his superiors. The subject of vengeance came up, and he found out that that was what he wanted. And to get it, he needed a better deck, a better body."

They could see where this was headed. "'Edgar' would fall to the powers of the Millenium, but not 'Xifos'!" He entered his turn and summoned one of his Chaos Soldiers (2000/1500). "Edgar is gone, you will no longer use that name, Anima." The demon killed Xaldin, but not before one of his whirling lances impaled the soldiers chest. They had equal attackpower, still he drove both to death. "And as for your power, it is nothing." He sneered and ended his turn. "What do you know?" He drew. "The truth, as vague as it is... Your powers are not your own, you can only mirror the powers of others." His opponent did not respond, to the others this meant that he was right. "At the stadium, you took the strength of the Orichalcos Soldiers, but lost as soon as they collapsed. You tried to use our Orichalcum magic against us, but we prevented that. And you can only teleport people, when a millenium item is nearby. Of course this does not explain why you did it just an hour ago, but there is a theory." A theory which he would not share.

"There is an eight person here, one that nobody can see" A long silence followed. "So did we hit home?" Illya cackled, as she noticed that a single sweat drop formed on his face. "You know all this, but does it change anything?" Xifos started to chuckle in response. "Heh, it does. It proves that you are weaker. You abandoned everyone back at the tower because you felt your strength fading, because all the millenium items went under the sea. You are just a liability. Trying to make up for your flaws." Anima drew a card. "Then you dont know enough. At least I did not have to abandon my human self to attain power. You are but a shadow of your former self." He sacrificed his Dusk Nobody, for another member of the Organization. "Axel, Flurry of Blades!" A redheaded fire warrior (2400/2000) was now on the field. Meanwhile Xifos had no monsters left because his soldier killed itself. "Direct attack." But the enemy was ready. "Wrong!" He flipped two spell cards. First came Flute of Summoning Kuriboh. The spell allowed him to call out a Kuriboh monster card from his deck in defense mode (300/200). "It is you who is the shadow, you can not even do anything without another person to stand behind!"

_Organization XIII-Axel the Flurry of Dancing Flames, 6/2400/2000 Dark/Light/Fire Warrior/Nobody  
When this monster is succesfully tribute summoned, destroy one monster on the field. Also, if this card is face-up during your standby phase, you may destroy one face-up monster on the field whose attack is higher than this monster._

Then as Axel redirected his flames, he played his second quickplay spell: Mulitply. "Two souls have been through the dark tunnel, but only one saw the true light! The light of strength, the sacred light of Orichalcos!" Multiply sacrificed a Kuriboh card, creating five Kuriboh-tokens (300/200), Fiend-tokens. "Crap! Those can be sacrificed for Raviel as well." Carter cursed. Axel was only capable at slaying one of them. But Anima was no longer talking, he did not even flinch when the tokens came. "He knows.." He just placed a trap card down, and allowed Xifos/Edgar to take his turn. "Yes, not even that is a secret anymore, Anima. But enough time has been wasted, now you will be crushed." He removed three of the remaining four tokens, to special summon Raviel, the Phantasm God (4000/4000). "Die!" And the sacred demon broke every bone in Axels body, before sending him to the grave. "No! There is not a single card in a Nobody deck that can match such brute force." Cable gulped, he hated seeing his creations die like this. Especially since it was probably the traitor Marcus that designed the sacred demons. "..." However, Anima stopped looking worried, when his turn came up again. "You still..do not know enough."

Anima's LP: 4900

(To be continued in Testament 070: United we Fall)

**New Cards used by Anima**  
_Creeper Nobody_  
_Berserker Nobody_  
_Organization XIII-Larxene, the Savage Nymph_  
_Organization XIII-Xaldin, the Whirlwind Lancer_  
_Organization XIII-Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames_

_-_  
_Nobody Swarm_

_-_  
_Brink of Despair_

**New Cards used by Xifos**  
_Chaos Core (+)_  
Phantom of Chaos  
Wicked Eraser  
Wicked Dreadroot  
Wicked Avatar  
Kuriboh

-  
Fiends Sanctuary  
Flute of Summoning Kuriboh  
Multiply

_(+) Used by Marcel in YGO GX Season 3, albeit edited so that it can discard more then just 3 monster cards_


	70. Testament 070: United we Fall

Testament 070: United we Fall

Anima's LP: 4900 Xifos's LP: 4900

"Rebirth By Sleep!" Anima activated a trap. "This card special summons as many Nobodies from the grave, as there are monsters on your side of the field." There were two cards, Raviel and the final Kuriboh Token. "Thats a card to live by isnt it?" So he revived two Organization Members. "You talk too much." He revived two Organization Members: Larxene (1700/1000) and Axel (2400/2000). "You still do not understand, even with all that knowledge." Xifos kept poking at things in his past, teasing. "You think you found a gods power.." He shook his head, and sacrificed the two cards. "You are wrong... Xemnas!" And now he called out the first member of XIII. "Oh!" He was the master of nothingness, Xemnas (3000/2500). At the time of that normal summon, Raviels effect activated, allowing Xifos to summon a Phantasm-token (1000/1000). "I will show you that true power does not lie in number or statistics." Xemnas killed the Kuriboh and he ended his turn. "Was that all?" The cyborg scoffed at Xemnas. "No... read his effects."

_Organisation XIII-Xemnas the Master of Nothingness, 8/3000/2500 Dark/Light Spellcaster/Nobody  
This card can not be special summoned. Once during your endphase, by sending 1 monster card from your hand to the Graveyard, you can activate one of the following effects  
- Destroy all face-up monsters on your opponent's side of the field with an ATK equal to or higher than the ATK of the sent monster.  
- Discard all monsters cards in your opponent's hand, with an ATK equal to or higher than the ATK of the sent monster._

"During the endphase I can discard a monster from my hand, to destroy all monsters that are equal to or stronger then the discarded card. I choose to discard this card!" He threw away something weaker then Raviel and his token. So Xemnas summoned a swarm of bolts, and rained them down upon Xifos's field. "That wont work!" However he discarded 'that' card: Charm of the Fallen Martyr. "No!" When that monster was discarded, he could undo the death of Raviel. "He did not know about that card." Eidos could tell that from Anima's look of surprise. "You failed, your power failed. Not even the void can swallow Raviel." His turn came and Edgar/Xifos entered the battle phase immediately. "Disappear!" Raviel crushed Xemnas with ease. "Dang, not even the leader of this organization seems to work." Christine sighed. But once the smoke had cleared, they were staring at something else all together. "What?" Xemnas was still there, but he had transformed (3600/3300). "Second Boss Form: Armored Controller, Xemnas."

Anima's LP: 3900

He obtained a colored wing-like cape, armor, and lances that floated around his body. "Xemnas can't die in one shot, like a true final boss." Cable smirked, feeling rather proud of his work. "Wh-wh-what?" Xifos was less thrilled. "Bah, he still cant match Raviel!" He protested as he placed one trap card down. "Perhaps, but...it has the same effect, about... I choose to destroy Raviel!" Anima entered his turn, and he payed 1000 LP. "Hey." A rainbowish glow surrounded the demon god. "Except now, I pay a thousand lifepoints. This form can use it during my standby phase." The blue demon god was about to leave the field. "That wont happen!" But at the last second, the trap: Generation Shift, was activated. "This card destroys one monster on the controllers field, and allows him to take one with the same name from his deck." Raviel was killed by the trap instead. "The first Raviel is tributed, and the second is added to the hand!" This way he could put the death of his card to good use. "So be it." Still, this left Xifos wide open for a direct armored attack. "Take this." A spear was hurled straight at the cybernetic assassin, and it stabbed his leg. "Agh, damn you." Apparently even this body was programmed to accept pain. "Enough of this."

Anima's LP: 2900 Xifos's LP: 1300

_Organisation XIII-Xemnas the Armored Controller, 8/3600/3300 Dark/Light Warrior/Nobody  
This monster can not be normal summoned or set. This card can not be special summoned except by its own effect.  
When 'Xemnas: the Master of Nothingness' is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you can special summon this card from your deck to your field.  
Once during your standby phase, by paying 1000 LP, you can activate one of the following effects  
- Destroy one face-up card on the field  
- Draw one card from your deck.  
- Discard one card from your opponent's hand._

"Eidos, Illya, join the game!" He grunted. "I thought you said that you could to this alone?" Eidos asked, while Illya snickered. "Dont argue with your leader, this duel is now a tagteam duel! We will show Anima the true power of Tumaga." And while the two had no objections, the others were of course outraged. "Hey that isnt fair!" Even Nero yelled at them, exhausted as he was. "Yeah, if you get two friends to help you, so should he!" Colin said. "Fine, then. You just volunteered for that task." He rasped. "Wait what? I did not mean.." And his enthusiasm was squashed. "Colin stop being such a wimp, you have that overly broken dragon card remember? If anyone can take them, you can!" Cleo pushed him to the front. "Huh? Oh right, oh yeah, I can do this!" He laughed to himself, still not quite feeling the needed courage.

Someone else spoke up. "Excuse... me... I want to help too, I still need to make up for..what I did." Rose had not had a chance to duel since Jacob had put her soul in a shadowgame. And after that Jacob used her to inflict harm on others. "You two, you dont need to do this." Anima was hesitant, not just for their sake. "Too late!" Illya had already activated her disk, and Eidos soon followed. "They know the risks, its their choice." The two began to shuffle their decks. "Anima, you are not alone." Christine said, she tried to cheer him up, but he still looked grim. "Then this is how to do it: lifepoints stay the same, but hands are replenished." Every player drew five new cards. "Anima still has to end his turn. After that the others will put up their fields, one by one. Eventually everyone will have had a chance to put up a defense, thats were the battle comes in." Xifos pointed at the crimson assassin next to him. "llya takes first turn, Eidos takes third." The good guys also picked an order. Colin would go second, Chistine fourth.

Anima just sighed, and placed two magic/trap cards facedown. "Then here I go!" Illya shouted as she drew her sixth card. "Temple of the Kings!" She activated the continuous spell card, the royal temple allowed her to activate traps from her hand without waiting a turn. "Three continuous trap cards!" She played Anti Spell Fragrance, Curse of Darkness and Embodiment of Apophis. "Dont tell me.." They could figure what was coming next. "Sacrifice all three for Uria, gyahaha!" And the three traps were replaced by the Searing Flame God. "Yup, already.." It gained 1000 attackpoints for each continuous trap in her cemetery (3000/0) "Its effect activates!" She cackled and pointed at Anima. "Uria destroys one set card every turn, and you can not chain to this effect!" One of his set cards was destroyed instantly. "Tsch, I still have another..." He would not let this phase him. "Not done yet, not yet!" She still had one card, which was placed it facedown. "Too bad I cant attack yet. Now you weaklings, start your turn already!"

"Heh, she reminds me of you Cleo." Colin smirked. "Shut up and play moron." She rasped, and he nodded and drew. He looked at his hand. "Bah, no mysterious dragon card for me, I guess" His hand lacked a lot of trump cards actually. But he had two cards that were very useful. "I activate, Burden of the Mighty! As long as this card is on the field, the opponents monsters lose 100 attackpoints for every one of their levels." For example, Uria was a ten-star card, so it lost 10 X 100 attackpoints (2000/0). "Hsss, you dare?" She was not to pleased with that. "There is more, I summon Radio Jammer(1000/1000). In our next standby phase, I can choose a level and make sure that nothing of the same level attacks us." Of course he would pick ten stars, since that was the level of all of these sacred demons. "Very well, my turn." Eidos drew a card, and at that point he gave a quick look at Illya. "Heehee." She noticed and flipped her trap card, Destruction of Destiny, a card that Nero recognized. "Huh?"

But instead of her deck, she targeted the one of the golden assassin. "This is a team duel, and she will now help me to reach the same platform she had found." He had to discard three cards from the top of his deck, two Crystal Beasts and a spell card. He lost 1000 lifepoints for the spell he discarded. "Now that there are two crystals in the grave, I can revive them as spells with this card: The spell, Crystal Blessing!" The card revived Cobalt Eagle and Amber Mammoth as Cobalt and Amber gemstones. "Oh crap, him too?" There were three continuous spells on the field now, his two crystals and Illya's Temple. "I sacrifice the three spells for Hamon, Descending Thunder Lord!" A flash of lightning claimed the spells, and brought forth the demonic thundergod (4000/4000). "God a second one, and we havent even started atatcking." However its attack was lowered by Burden of the Mighty as well. (3000/4000). "And now.." This time he exchanged glances with Xifos "Exchange!" He played the hand exchanging spell card. "Hm?"

Eidos's LP: 7000

"I choose to switch cards with Xifos." This act came as a surprise to say the least. "Heh, here you go." Edgar/Xifos gave Eidos a spell card, while he took a trap from the crystal duelists hand. "Why did you do that?" Rose wondered. "As I said, we are a team. Xifos too needs to enter the tenth level. Phantasmal Martyrs!" They gasped, as he played a spell which could only be activated if Hamon or Uria were on the field. "I discard two cards from my hand and special summon three Phantasal Martyr-tokens (0/0)." The three tokens were fiends, meaning they could be sacrificed for Raviel. "I get it, he traded cards, because Xifos still has that Generation Shifted Raviel in his hand. And if he had to activate the Martyr spell, he would be forced to discard the god, before he could use the tokens as a sacrifice." Carter was amazed that these three assassins could work together so well. "Yeah, well we have teamplay too. Christine, mind if I use your standby phase?" Colin asked her. "I think so."

She was confused for a bit, but then she saw that he could use her standby phase for his machine card. "Guess what? I pay 500 LP for Radio Jammer. Now I can turn the machine into a ten-star monster card. And none of your sacred demons can attack it, since they also have ten stars." He said, feeling rather smug about it. "I am glad I could help you." Rose smiled and entered her main phase. Sadly she didnt have any Baker-cards in her hand, or anything with firepower. "I summon Card Blocker(400/400) in defense mode." Card Blocker could be normal summoned in defense mode, due to its own ability. She ended her turn as well. Rose could have placed a trap card facedown, but there was a chance that Illya would simply destroy it with Uria's effect. "Well then, everyone has prepared. One would say it is time." He drew again. "To show that power you were promised." He immediately tributed the Martyr-tokens for Raviel. It was also weakened by Colins spell (3000/4000). "Too bad you can not bypass the Radio Jam."

Colins LP: 7500

"Thats an easy prediction is it not?" Xifos rasped. "But even so, the biggest threat is Anima." Especially since Xemnas may possibly have a third form in store for them. "Raviel has the ability to sacrifice another monster to absorbs its attackpower... but." Even if Raviel did absorb Hamon. Radio Jammer held them in their place. "There is no choice left... Lets introduce you too..the ultimate phantasm." He looked at his partners, their silence was enough to confirm that they all agreed. "The union of the light, Anima. Fusion summon!" And suddenly, he combined Uria, Hamon and Raviel, into one devil that towered over the field. "Automatic fusion, they can do that? He went that far!" Cable was astonished. Not only had Marcus created three demon gods for Tumaga, but he also created a fusion form? "Cable, this is the amalgam of the sacred demons, Marcus did not make it, the legends did. Meet The Phantom God: Armitael!" The demon that stood before them (0/0) had traits of every one of its parts, more twisted then an escher painting.

"Wait thats it, it has no attack?" But Cleo was disappointed. "Eheheheh, oh foolish children." Armitael turned on Xemnas, and his power started rising. "Did you think that all that effort would deliver something fragile?" And still rising. "What the?" It went beyond the powers of any card they had ever seen. "Its a twelve-star card, your machine cant Jam this god anymore." And stopped at an ultimate high. "Armitael gains ten thousand attackpoints in the battle phase. Armitael(10000/0) kill Anima." And then the phantom god unleashed his fury: lightning, flames and shadows claimed the armored form of Xemnas. "Quickplay spell card!" Anima tried to strengthen his monster with his an instant spell, but the power was simply too much for it to handle. And all that energy overflowed the creator of XIII. "No, Anima!" Rose tried to help him, but it was too late, he was consumed by the 5400 attackpoints that remained. The smoke clared after a minute, and revealed that his life was depleted.

Anima's LP: 0

"This feels just like...that first time" He collapsed soon after. "Damn it, he did not even get a chance!" Nero cursed. "Anima would have won, but then Xifos had to call for backup! And now it is three against two!" Everyone knew it was unfair, but the duel could not be stopped. "At least his attack is back to (0/0), we have two turns to take it down." Colin tried to cheer his partner up. "I am sorry, did you say two turns?" Illya drew a card. "What?" Since Anima had fallen, his turn was skipped. And hers now came right after Xifos's. "Make that, Zero Turns!" Armitael powered up, again (10000/0) "What? She can command it too? I object!" But it was true, according to official tagteam rules, if a fusion monster consisted of parts from both party members, both players could attack with it. "That means, it will get an attack every turn!" And the god set it sights on the helpless Radio Jammer. "Indeed, Colin will fall next. Then the turn will pass over to Eidos, who can finish the girl. You never stood a chance!" Xifos chuckled, and gave Illya the good-to-go gesture.

"Die, Die, Die!"

(To be continued in Testament 071: 10000 Attackpoints)

**New Cards used by Anima**  
_Organization XIII - Xemnas the Master of Nothingness_  
_Organization XIII - Xemnas the Armored Controller_

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve**  
Burden of the Mighty

**New Cards used by Xifos**  
Armitael - Phantasm of Chaos

-  
Phantasmal Martyrs

-  
Generation Shift

**New Cards used by Illya**  
Anti-Spell Fragrance

**New Cards used by Eidos**  
Crystal Blessing  
Exchange


	71. Testament 071: 10000 attackpoints

Testament 071: 10000 Attackpoints

Armitael the gof of 10000 attacked. Colin was doomed, he knew it. Radio Jammer was too weak to keep even one lifepoint intact. "No!" But at the last second, a miracle happened. "Card Blocker!" Christine's monster jumped in the way of the attack. "Wha?" It pumped up his shield with 3 discarded cards from her deck (400/1900). Of course it was not enough to survive, but she would not lose lifepoints in this blow. "What!" Xifos and Illya were stunned. "She can not do that, can she?" The latter hissed. "Normally, no. Even in tagteam rules, a partner can not defend another if he still has a monster on his field. But this was Card Blockers special effect, to intercept any attack." Eidos explained. "Wait, if you could do that? Why didn't you save Anima?" Cleo asked her. "I tried, but the dueldisk would not respond, I could not activate his effect until just now." She was as confused as everyone. Only Anima knew why he could not be helped, and he lied on the road, twitching. "Lets attack the girl next!" Illya sneered.

"First, its my turn." Colin was still alive, he could barely believe it. "Well... you failed with your one-hit killing streak, didn't you?" He drew his card. "Maybe I should do my own one-turn kill!" He laughed and activated Star Storm. "Yes!" . "Tsch." And Star Storm inflicted effect damage. Since there were 22 stars on the field (Radio Jammer: 10 + Armitael: 12) he could inflict 2200 damage to an enemy of his choice. "Good riddance to Xifos!" He selected the leader. He had less then 2200 LP, and all the stars flew at him. "Tough luck!" But he flipped a trap card, and activated it by discarding a card from his hand. "Rainbow Life: this trap reverses all damage!" The others were shocked to see that his life went up by 2200 instead of down. "The card Eidos gave you huh?" Earlier, Xifos exchanged a spell for a trap, that must have been it.

Xifos's LP: 3500

"Not done yet! Star Seizure." Another star spell was activated. "This card can only be used if there are more than 12 stars on the field, it forces someone to discard two cards from his hand." He selected Xifos, who discarded two random cards. "Also. It seems Armitael only gets his high powers when He attacks. So when We do the attacking, it has no power, and anyone can kill it!" He summoned another machine, the two-star Calculator (600/600). "Oh, that card gains 300 points for every level on his field." Cable gasped. "His entire deck is based on levels?" He truly had never seen such an odd style before. "Indeed, Radio Jammer still has ten stars, so there are 12 stars on my field. Go Calculator!" The machine calculated its own power (3600/3600) and slashed into Armitaels flesh. "And thats one.. down... Hey?" However, the cut did not go to deep, it barely left a mark. Illya lost lifepoints, but the god fusion remained. "Fools! This god cant be killed by battling monsters, its immortal!" Apparently, only effects could slay it.

Illya's LP: 4400

_Star Seizure, Normal Spell  
You can only activate this card if the combined level of all monsters on the field is 12 or higher. Your opponent discards from his hand, two cards at random._

"Radio Jammer goes to defense mode, end turn." The others also noticed that Illya lost LP. "Hmmm. Xifos was the one that summoned Armitael. But Illya controlled it last." So the controller, not the summoner suffered. "Thats why he chose this order. Since Anima is gone, he will never be in a position where he will take a loss for Armitaels low attack." It was a clever plan, yet dishonorable. "My turn." Eidos surveyed the battlefield, he placed a card down. "Hey Eidos, attack the girl." The female assassin snickered. "I see a bigger threat." He instead looked at Radio Jammer. "Tsch, forget that, he has a defense, while the girl is defenseless. The order is: attack her!" Xifos rasped. "Very well." He shrugged and Armitael released a green flame burst from its Thunder hand. "Bah, time to repay a debt." Colin sent his Calculator to take the blow for her. And he took 6400 damage in one turn. "What, not again!" The villain cursed. "The rules allow for such interceptions. You ordered me too attack her, I obeyed." He said, with a vague mocking tone.

Colins LP: 600

"Colin, are you allright?" She asked him, the blast had knocked him to the ground. "Peachy..just concentrate on killing that thing." She nodded, and entered her main phase. "I summon two monsters, Spell Striker and Armor Breaker!" The former(600/200) could be special summoned by removing a spell in her cemetery from play: Polymerization, discarded through Card Blocker. As for Armor Breaker(800/800), he was a union-monster. Meaning it could be equiped to another monster. "I equip Armor Breaker to Spellstriker. This cards effect allows me to destroy one card on the field, if I inflict damage with the equiped monster. And since Spell Striker can attack directly, that shouldnt be a problem." Her tiny mage warrior fired a bolt at Xifos. "Hmph." Yet, before the energy hit him, his companion flipped a trap card. "Dust Tornado." He activated the trap tornado, which blew Armor Breaker away from the field. "Now, even if you inflict damage, you can't destroy a card on the field. No doubt you intended to destroy Armitael, but I wont allow that"

Xifos's LP: 2900

She cringed, the spark only zapped Xifos. Rose moaned, she had failed as well. "Set Trap card, end turn." But he did not stay joyful. "Huh, whats this aura?" He noticed that a sonic wave had paralyzed the Phantom Lord. "That would be Radio Jammer." Eidos pointed at Colins machine. "He payed 500 LP again, in her standby phase again, to turn his machine into a twelve-star monster." That was why he wanted to kill it, before it had a chance to reuse its powers. Any twelve-star monster could no longer attack. "Relax Eidos, this is nothing." Xifos simply summoned another Phantom of Chaos(0/0. "Four star monsters can still kill." The Phantom removed Raviel in the grave from play to absorb its powers (3000/4000) "These children should not think that they can handle such might." Phantom of Chaos killed off the Jammer at last, freeing Armitael of its bindings. "Now, one monster remains." Due to the rules, he had to attack it. But since Spell Striker was so ridiculously weak, he assumed she would die regardless. "Good Bye!"

She did not even have time to react, Spell Striker was blown up in a heartbeat. "Oh no!" But despite the large explosion, none of her lifepoints had been touched. "Now, what gives?" Illya grew even more frustrated. "Spell Striker does not channel battle damage to its owner." Nero said. He knew that because he faced that card as well, when he dueled Christine. "Then she will die now!" But Illya could not wait any longer, she drew haphazardly. Then she placed two trap cards down, nearly snapping them in half. "Enough, you die!" Armitael extended the dragonmouth on its left arm, and released a burst of searing flames. "Call of the Haunted!" But Rose flipped her trap, using it to revive Bill Baker (2200/2000). He did not stand a chance either, but at least he stopped 2200 of the 10000 attackpoints. "Aaaah!" The rest of the flames consumed her. "Christine!" Everyone yelled. She coughed in response, so at least she was still alive. "Shut up, you and I both know she is not dead. You can start crying after the funeral, because then it will be your turn!"

Christine's LP: 200

"Is it my turn?" Colin asked the crimson female, while shielding his face. "Hst." She snapped at him, but did not respond. "I take that as a yes." Colin drew again, receiving Trade In. _"Last Chance.." _He activated the spell, discarding Grinder Golem from his hand to draw two new cards. _"...It is here." _He held in his hands, Critias, the atlantian dragon. _"Critias huh? Thats it name... wait when did I learn that? Oh well.."_ It was strange, he felt as if he could win the duel in one shot now. He beat Simone with it after all. Yet the assassins noticed the change in his behaviour, and Xifos gave Illya a strange handsignal. "Ghehee." Before he could even enter his main phase, she flipped her trap. "Cloak and Dagger." A sniping gun appeared on her arm. "This continuous trap can take down a monster as soon as it comes into play". All she had to do was name it. "Atlantian Dragon: Critias." She cackled. "Wait what?" He blinked "You heard her, her Trap is now locked on to any card with that name." Xifos said.

As soon as he put Critias into action, it would die. "You're bluffing. There is no way a special card like this can be stopped by a mere Cloak and.." He had ignored the warning, and summoned the dragon anyway. "Dagger?" And just as soon as he did, it was shot down by Illya, a bullet straight into its neck. Nobody could even enjoy its presence. "You can not be serious." The Hologram of Critias disappeared again, roaring from agony. "What an anticlimax." Xifos chuckled. _"Damn it, this can't be happening. Why did I get such a good card, if it can not even beat these guys?" _He started to think that something had jinxed him. "Damn it!" He had no choice, and summoned Fusilier without tributes (1400/1000). "Damn it all!" The tank dragon could not do much, except kill the Phantom of Chaos(0/0). "You finally realize that you cant win. Your dragon may have been a problem for one duel, but Tumaga learned from Simone's death, and adapted." Yet at that time a glow appeared as soon as Critias had been shot by Illya, a warm glow

Xifos's LP: 1500

Amidsts all the chaos, nobody saw it, nobody saw that strange red glow from Christine's disk. . They probably did not see, because Colin was very loud. "No, I wont lose, not yet!" He used the last card in his hand. "Seal of Royalty!" It was an equip spell, which attached to the Tank as a diamond-encrusted emblem, 7 of its slots were filled with gemstones. "It does not matter how much equipments your cards get, nothing will ever compare to Armitael. Show him, Eidos!" Xifos yelled, as his partner entered his turn. "Very well." And the Phantom Lord (10000/0) struck again, using black lightning to overload the machine. "Hahhaha, dead!" Illya clapped her hands in excitement. "Not yet." However, Fusilier emerged from the smoke, unharmed. "He lived?" They were all surprised. "The Royal Seal..." Eidos then noticed that the emblem had lost four of its crystals. "I see, its a damage negating equipment. You sacrifice 4 stars for your own survival. But it wont work twice.." He was right. Colin could nothing to save himself.

_Seal of Royalty, Equip Spell  
When the equipped monster would be destroyed, negate the battle damage and reduce its level by 4. If this effect would reduce the monster's level below 1, send it to the graveyard._

Sairve stared at his empty hands. "Christine, please tell me you have something." And Rose fell the weight of the world fall on her. "Oh no." She had three cards in her hand, one of which was John Baker. But she could not summon him without tributes. "_There is only one card in my deck that can destroy Armitael, his sword of Light which can negate monster effects. But I can not equip it to anyone else but him." _It all depended on her, and on her next draw. She took a deep breath, and picked it up. "Huh?" At which point a red glow encompassed her. "Hey!" The crimson light illuminated the entire road. _"Whats happening, I cant see!" _They had to shield their eyes, it was too bright. "This, I have ..seen this before!" Colin gasped. At the same time, Rose had a quick vision. She saw herself, inside a large beautiful city, surrounded by smoke. She pulled a sword from a pedestal. One of three swords was already drawn, one remained for a third person. The light took the shape of a dragon, and it solidified its form. "Another one?"

A red dragon looked straight at the three assassins, as it hovered over his new master. "Is this..mine?" Christine could not believe it. "Gah, her too?" Cleo hissed, where did these things keeep coming from? "It..sensed the pain of its brother." Doe said suddenly, he could feel it. "Hermos. Thats his name...Hermos felt the agony of Critias, and came to help him." They all gawked at the monster with open mouths. "Hermos?" And suddenly, she knew what it could do. "Okay. I combine John Baker, with Hermos!" John Baker appeared on the field, and fused with the dragon, changing into a fire-red equipment card. "Equipment fusion? I have never heard of that." Then again Cable had never seen a dragon like that either. "This is the Crimson Baker Alloy, and I will use it on one of my monsters!"

_Crimson Baker Alloy, Equip Spell/Fusion  
[John Baker] + [Claw of Hermos]  
Once per turn, you can remove 1 equip spell card that can only be equiped on 'John Baker' from your hand, deck or graveyard. This cards effect becomes the same as the removed card._

"I summon a Red Claw." She called out a warrior cloaked in red, with a large gauntlet(1800/1600). This Crimson armor merged itself with the red knight. "Now I can give Red Claw, one of Johns three powers. I choose the Sword, which can negate a monsters ability." Red Claw extended his free hand, and formed a glowing red sword in it (2300/1600). "That means, she ignore Armiteals immortality and destroy it?" Xifos cringed. Immediately, the Red warrior charged. "Eidos, use your trap, now!" He barked, but his partner refused. "That wont work, Red Claw can negate a trap once per duel." Neither he nor anyone else could stop this. "No!" He jumped way up into the air, and drove the burning blade right into the Gods face. "Vanish!" And unlike the previous attacks, this wound could not be shrugged off. Armitael released an inhumanly loud scream, its body started convulsing. "Its fading!" Illya shrieked, as it dropped dead against the road. "Your greatest card is gone." The Crimson Red Claw landed besides her, the Phantom Lord was slain.

Eidos's LP: 4700

_Red Claw, 4/1800/1600 Fire/Warrior  
Once during the game, this card can negate the activation and effect of an opponents trap card, and destroy it._

"We have not lost yet!" Xifos insisted as he drew another card. "Damn it." But he could not use it, it was a high-tribute monster. "Give it up, you invested to much resources in that god of yours, and its gone now." Carter hoped they could end the game now. "We still outnumber you!" Illya rasped. "No, they are right." Yet Eidos did not share his partners rage. "Xifos, we can not win anymore. We have nothing that can kill this dragon of hers, so we can not get rid of the seer either. That card is not just a hologram, can't you tell?" The other two did not seem to like what he said. "You may want to continue, but I wont risk selftermination for your sake." And just like that, he disengaged his dueldisk and flew off. "What? Self-termination?" Xifos looked up, and sighed. "Feh, you win this time, only this time. Tum'aga wont stop here, they will find a way to kill every dragon." He nodded to Illya, who also took off. "Edgar, wait!" Nero shouted. "Thats not a name anymore! Edgar no longer exists, only Xifos remains!" He shouted back and left the scene at last.

(To be continued in Testament 072: Past is Prologue)

**New Cards used by Christine Rose**  
Armor Breaker  
_Red Claw_  
_Claw of Hermos_

_-_  
_Crimson Baker Alloy_

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve**  
The Calculator

-  
_Star Seizure_  
_Seal of Royalty_

**New Cards used by Eidos**  
Rainbow Life  
Dust Tornado

**New Cards used by Illya**  
Cloak and Dagger


	72. Testament 072: Past is Prologue

(Testament 072: Past is Prologue)

"Marvelous." The Kartel had assembled, and so had the Puzzle. Right before their eyes, Glyph finished the Item he'd been working on for decades. The Final Piece he obtained from the thief several hours ago. "Eheh...what a ride." And just as he completed it, a bright light came from the puzzle, which shot all the way through the ceiling, while it left nor mark. It engulfed Glyph himself, his eyes went as wide as the grin on his face. It was was disturbing to say the least. "Did you see something?" Simon asked his associate. "Things that once were, my friend. And things that last forvever." He chuckled. "Stop being vague, get to the point Glyph." Ivar snorted. "Heh, forward as usual." He shared his malevolent expression with everyone. "I saw where the tablet of memories is located. The place where all souls meet." He paused for the biggest news. "And the power of gods, Egyptian Gods." As he said this, half the table was stunned. "Gods?" Justine was particularly interested. "Dont we have those already?" Marcus asked. "You have imitations.. I am talking about the first, the three pillars of Duel Monsters. With 'that thing', we can recreate the gods themselves, as god cards. With those on my..ehr our side, we can make Orichalcos invincible ey?"

He laughed maniacally. Not everyone at the table trusted him. "You said you found the city?" Cadron nodded. "Yes, the tablet was located in a museum a few weeks ago actually. But until today we had no reason to pursue it. When we heard about your soon to be completed puzzle, we disregarded the laws just this once and hit the city with the satellite." The same city that the heroes were standing near right now. "Good. But the rest shall not be easy, this is a special task. I will gladly lead the mission. It will only take a few hundred troops. And maybe the three assassins can help as well. They are in the neighbourhood" But Marcus had enough of it, and then got up. "Not easy, how hard can it be to take a tablet from a dead city?" Glyph expected that question. "Because, its hidden..inside. The puzzle showed me... us.. how to open the gate. It is the container for the knowledge, the stone tablet is the door, and all we need is the key." Cadron then picked up an Ankh-shaped object. "Heh, well we have one of those." It was the third Millenium-Item, the Key. It had been stashed in Tower 0013's treasury all this time. "Well then gentleman, everything is ready for the third act. With this move, the company may not even need Zetto."

Half an hour later, Tumaga had assembled an army large enough to suit Glyphs needs, zeppelins full of Orichalcos soldiers left the island. "Are you sure about this, Simon? That mans a loose cannon, he can work against Zetto." Thorne spoke to Simon, who watched the blimps fly over the horizon. "Let him go, ehehe. It should be interesting." Cadron was there as well, grinning as usual. "Tsch, you would say that, you brought him on board in the first place. Sir, we can not trust him, we do not know where he got his powers from, how he found the rod, and if he truly is after the gods." He looked at his master once again. "Relax. Even if Simone is gone, I can still run this place by myself. I am no fool, I know that Glyph wants something that he is not telling us. Thats why I sent the troops and one of our own with him, since they can make records of it." He smirked and took a zip from his glass. "At least now he is out of our hair, giving us time to concentrate on stage 3 of Zetto: Operation Heavenhell."

Glyph meanwhile was inside the vehicle, holding Key, Puzzle and Rod. He sat below the compartments which contained all the soldiers. They were suspended in cybernetic animation, waiting for the order to awaken. "Heh, manmade machines, made from men. Thats also a way to achieve immortality." His laughter echoed throughout the zeppelin. "You fancy some yourself, then?" Justine was there as well. "You are here huh?" She nodded. It was due to her disruptive conduct with the 'special prisoners', that she had been forced to work together with the vampire mage. To keep a watchful eye on him as well. "It has not wronged me so far, my life draining power. Though, as Ivar will tell you, the process is tedious." He had only drained the life of that art thief half a day ago, and already his face started to show age. "But a lady like you need not worry about any tricks from this artist. I have came too far to let something ruin it now.." Loveless just smiled, feintly. "I know you wont indulge yourself too much, sir Glyph. After all, you need us.."

Back at the city grounds, the tagteam duel was over, there was no winner, but the enemy was gone. "I can not believe I survived again. I could kiss you." Colin said to Christine, who had just managed to drive off the assassins single handedly. "What her, or the dragon?" Cleo joked on the sidelines. "Leave me alone already." After that dispute everyone turned their attention to the dragon. The second of three, Hermos the red sword. It did not respond much. "This is..unreal." Cable stroked its back, he could actually touch it. "How is this possible, its just like with the soldiers in the arena. This thing is a hologram turned solid." Rose walked up to Doe. "You can hear him right, you said so earlier? Is is saying anything right now?" Jackson looked at Hermos, everyone went silent. "He wants to speak to someone. Someone else." He looked around. "Someone we can not see." And everyone got a chill down their spine. "What, someone...here? Invisible??" They looked left and right, but of course nobody could see 'it'.

"Well who is he talking about, or is it a she?" Rose was not even sure about her own cards gender. "It is a spirit, 'he' says, a damaged one. Hermos can barely hear it, someone that has been following you all this time." In the end he pointed at Cleo. "What, me? Why!? Is it a stalker or something?" She glared behind her. "No, it's just that. You had that ring..the critical piece. He was sealed inside a part of the puzzle, and came out when you almost completed it near Atlantis." He wanted to say even more. But then suddenly a friend of theirs became wide awake. It was Anima. "The stone tablet!" He said loudly. "The tablet in the museum!" And just like that, he passed out again. "Come again?" He had lost too much energy to sustain himself for much longer "Okay... what was all that about?" There was only one place for a musem to be, inside that city. "Did he want us to meet here, for that reason... why the sudden panic?" Feeling that there was some urgency involved, they rushed back to the mindwiped city.

"This would be a whole lot faster if Anima did not faint all the time." Colin grunted, most of them were still tired anyway. Doe had to carry Anima on his back. "Or if that dragon could give us a ride." But no, Hermos did not move at all, Christine had to shut down her dueldisk as well. Aside from saving their lives, the dragons werent very helpful. "Regardless, Anima must have known something was wrong with this place, maybe Tum'aga did not drain it just to get to us." They entered city limits, and even though they knew about the Orichalcos purge, the chaos inside still shocked them. "My god." Cars had crashed all over the place, small fires where everywhere, and this was a relatively calm day. "They are all.." The moment the satellite had struck, the people stopped controlling their cars and the like, resulting in the devastation that filled the scene. "Ned gave his life for this?" Carter sighed. "We can't just leave these people here? We at least have to put out the small fires or..." Christine said, while knowing that time was of the essence.

"We can help those we meet along the way, but we should keep moving in case actual authorities show up. If we wanted people show up in a dead city like this, it wont look good." Some did find it rather odd that despite the blimp crash and the mindwipe, the outside world had not yet shown up. "Tum'aga must have more influence then we thought." They managed to put out some small fires along the way, and pulled some people from wreckage. But eventually they had no choice but to move on, and so they ended up in front of a museum "I guess he was right, we did need to go to a museum." Cleo looked at the still unconscious Anima. "But what would be in here, that...oh." Then they noticed the sign that said: Egyptian Archeological exhibit. "Oh, figures. Just when I was getting used to the Atlantian motif" They went inside to check it out, naturally there were more people in the building as well. "They're fine, come on." Finally they found the thing that Anima must have referred too, a big slab of stone. "A big rock huh."

"Anybody understand hieroglyphs?" Everyone shook their heads. "Great, then what could it mean? I see some stickfigures and some monsterfigures." It was divided into four sections, the left and right side had the most text, with small figures. The middle part showed a bigger man, receiving a pyramidshaped object from a woman. "Probably a Pharaoh or something, one of those fancy rulers. That shape looks very familiar." And above him were three monstershapes, a dragon, a soldier and a gryphon. "Wonder what those are? Next thing someone will tell me that those are duel monsters." Cleo chuckled. "I think they are." Doe said, to everyone's amazement. "You heard it before, didn't you? Ancient Egypt and Atlantis both have ties to this game." Cable alone nodded. "Yes, I know. Marcus often told me that he drew inspiration from myths like those, to make his cards. Though he did not start the series." But just then loud noises from outside caught their attention. "And here we have the cavalry, finally..."

They walked back to the entrance to see what made such a ruckus, and the revelation did not please them. "Ah crap." It was a zeppelin, a swarm of them. "The Kartel is here too?" Carter flinched. "Then they hit the city for a reason after all.. besided killing us." One blimp already landed in the city, and opened its doors. A truck drove out of it, followed by several people in Hazmat suits. "What the heck kind of outfits are those?" The white coats started inspecting the soulless people around them, and moved them, to create more open space. "Those are environmental hazard protection suits. So thats it, they must want people to think that this city was hit by a fierce disease." If it had not been for the Tumaga logo, it would have convinced them too "They still want to blame this soulsucking in a plague? Thats what they said with the first city as well. But why are they here?" The answer was obvious. "Anima felt it, Tum'aga has an interest in this place... no rather." And then Glyph came out of the truck. "He does." Cleo twitched. "Him again, guess he really is friendly with the Kartel." Justine came out as well. "That witch... Tsch, this is getting dangerous. We're in the middle of things, no other rescue party will come with them here."

As Glyph entered the scene, he could not help but express joy at the sight of so many victims. "It is all settled, local authorities believe that the crashed blimp released a sample of a dangerous virus, and ordered everyone else to stay away. It will hurt our image, but we dont expect to need it much longer." Justine explained, as she coordinated the hazmat invasion. "That you three failed to capture the renegades, did not make a difference, did it?" She looked at the three assassins, Xifos, Illya and Eidos, who they collected and repaired along the way. "We purged any contact they might have tried to reach anyway." Illya just hissed, and Xifos snapped back. "We would have succeeded, but that Anima-person was here already! And then that whench summoned a second Atlantian dragon." Eidos said his piece as well. "We have to be aware, the children are close by, they will see the blimps." But Loveless simply scoffed at the idea. "Hmhm, let them try and stop us. We will find them soon, and send their souls to the great eye."

"Enough time has been wasted, lets go." Glyph did not wait any longer and moved up to the museum. The duelists no longer stood by the entrance when he arrived, of course. Though he paused anyway. "I smell something." However he shrugged it off, and went inside, several Hazmat troops and the assassins followed, while staking out the area. They too ended up in front of the stone slab. "Well then, here it is." He stared up at the rock, looking happier then ever. "So, what's it do?" Illya asked quickly. "This is the final record of memories, my dear. This is the canvas of gods, behold." He pointed at the three monsters. "The nameless gods, the ultimate duel monsters, said to be controlled by the great Pharaoh Shenu the First." Those were the three gods, the Dragon, The Soldier and The Sun. "My my..."

"To get them, we need to get inside this recording, inside that mans memories. The puzzle." He held the thing in front of the slab. "Is the projector, its light contains all the knowledge. While the Ankh." He pointed the key at the stone, inserting it into a small space. "Is the activation key..." He was estatic. "A ritual is what will soon begin. It takes time to open the door." He clenched the puzzle. "Time to load the images. I will have to go into a trance to dig them up, the memories. Once I find them, I can open the gate and send the army into that world. And then we can claim the gods, from the past itself..."

_"And then I will truly be an immortal!"_

(To be continued in Testament 073: All the Colors)


	73. Testament 073: All the Colors

Testament 073: All the Colors

"A trance hmm." Glyph looked at the hazmat people around him. Some started to clean up the mess left behind by the satellite attack, removing comatose bodies and sealing off certain hallways. "Yes, you do that perimeter thing around this museum. Make sure no nosy kids or cops enter here. I dont trust Justine's coverup story to hold water for long." The soldiers nodded. "You three, perhaps you may be able to finish your previous mission." Xifos flinched when he heard that. "The children are not far away, I can smell them...especially my little miracle worker. They may even be in the city itself. Find them and bring them to Justine, she will know what to do." The assassins nodded and left the building, leaving Glyph alone to enter his motionless state. "Now its just you and me, pharaoh." He focused his energy into the puzzle, and as he did his eyes rolled back. "Ahh..it feels goooood.." His mind slipped into another plane, who knew what he would see there. And his scent was accurate, the kids were not that far off.

They were still hidden inside the basement of the museum. Figuring that they would be safe there as long as the enemy did not come equipped with X-ray sensors. "Well now what? We probably can not leave the city anymore." Colin sighed. "We should not leave it anyway, Anima brought us here for a reason. That slab, Glyph wont do good things with it." Nero said, Cleo definitely agreed with him. "We should not hide all the time either, the longer we wait, the harder it will be to do something." At that moment Cable came back from a higher floor. "I checked to see if the coast is clear, for now. Edgar/Xifos and his gang have left the building to look for us elsewhere. They can only detect magical energy, so we should be fine as long as Anima does not wake up. There's a few guys in suits blocking our exit" Of course, one person required more information. "As for Glyph, I didnt see him leave." So they had to decide quickly what they were going to do. "He is here right now." They could not leave him alone, they chose to head back towards the exhibit.

"Lets hope he was cocky enough to leave himself unguarded." Cleo's expectations were met. There were none along their path to the slab room. Only he was there. "Glyph!" Ms. Caine hissed at him immediately. "Quiet cleo, someone else might hear us.." Carter whispered. Yet the old man did not reply. "Whats wrong with him?" Christine asked, once 30 seconds passed. "Looks like he is..sleeping?" But then Nero gasped and pointed at Glyphs hands. "Look! The puzzle, he completed it!" The puzzle rested in his left hand, the rod in his right. "And the Ankh as well, what does this mean? Are all of those 'Millenium' items?" They knew about two of them, but not the Key. "He was doing something here... to this slab." Jackson said. They tried to get a closer look, but they were interrupted.

"I wont allow direct contact." A grating voice echoed across the room.

A shadow landed in the middle of them, cloaked in green. "Eidos!" It was one of the three Tumaga assassins, the wielder of Hamon. "I expected to find you here inside this museum, not outside. To fool you, I pretended to leave with the others." Everyone backed away from him. "Arent we clever?" Carter cursed. "It was not cleverness, William. It was more of a hunch." He had sensed their presence somehow. "Now then, what we have here is a dangerous impasse. We can not disturb Glyph during this ritual, I wont allow it. Yet to that effect." He reached for his arm, and discarded a device from it.

"I can not contact Illya or Xifos, they wont hold back for anyone's sake." He feared they would blow the whole place up with their demon gods. "Their hatred is endless. I am the one who shall stand guard." He activated the disk on his arm. "A duel is what it takes?" Eidos nodded. "Yes. And I will keep it fair. Defeat me, and you pass. Any different result or action, and I shall trigger my silent alarm, and all will be on your heads..." His honour act confused them, but they could not refuse this. "Who goes?" The cyborg asked. It was the goth who stepped forward. "I will have you know that that is my ring that guy has in his slimy claws. And if I need to beat you to get it, I guess I will duel." She said, and activated her dueldisk. "Ah yes, Cleo Caine, the previous owner of the ring." Both players drew five cards.

Eidos's LP: 8000 Cleo's LP: 8000

"Then as the defender, I will begin with a defense." He placed one monster card and one trap card. "Your move." Cleo accepted and drew a card. "Bah, this hand sucks. I summon the Trial of Nightmare (1300/900), and attack your facedown." She summoned a demon sword impaling a coffin. Eidos's facedown was sealed inside that coffin, which the sword struck it. "You use effectless monsters, and you attack without foresight." Alas, his facedown was an Emerald Tortoise (600/2000), its shell was too strong to break. He pushed back the sword, and damaged her life instead. "Are those the qualities of the duelist that Tumaga desired?" She flinched. "Shut up, I dont need to be seen as some special person, not by them." She placed a trap card as finished her turn "I see."

Cleo's LP: 7300

He summoned a second Crystal Beast: the direct attacking Amethyst Cat (1200/400). "I will equip Amethyst Cat with a spell card: Crystal Relase, which adds 800 to her attackpoints (2000/400). Then I attack directly with her." The cat slashed at the goth, though due to her own effect, the damage she gave was halved to one thousand. "Then with the Emerald Tortoise effect, I switch the Cat that attacked this turn, to defense mode. Finally I place another trap facedown, and end my turn." It was her turn again, this time she drew a spell. "First I summon Dragon Zombie (1600/0), and then I play Mystic Plasma Zone." She played the field to empower her two monsters (Trial: 1800/500, Dragon: 2100/0), and shadows filled the room. "Too bad, your monsters could have survived if you left The Cat in attack mode. But now."

Cleo's LP: 6300

She struck with both monsters, the Hellish sword reduced the feline into an Amethyst gemstone, "When you destroyed a monster equiped with Crystal Release, its effect is activated. It places a crystal in my spell zone." Thus he summoned Cobalt Eagle as a continuous spell card. "Meh." She ignored the cobalt gem and her Dragon released a deadly fume. "You still strike without hesitation." Now he flipped his trap, Last Resort. "You arent in a position to make such moves." This Trap activated one field spell from his deck, the Plasma Zone was replaced with his own zone: Ancient City: Rainbow Ruins. "No!" The Dragon thus powered down (1600/0) and its fumes did not damage the Tortoise's shell, while she lost 400 points. "But when the opponent loses a field spell, if Last Resort gives the controller one, the opponent can draw a card." Grunting, the goth drew an extra card. "Now, continuous trap card: Gem Flash Energy!" The floor tiles were replaced with sharp crystals. "Hey!" A cobalt and amethyst shard cut the girl for 600 points. "Allow me to explain: Every standby phase I can inflict damage to the opponent. 300 for every continuous spell on my field." There were two of course, his crystal beasts.

Cleo's LP: 5300

"My turn. Now I summon Sapphire Pegasus." He called out a shining blue horse(1800/1200) with wings on his back. Nero did not recognize this beast from previous duels. "When it is summoned, one more crystal is placed in the spell zone." He placed a red gem, Ruby Carbuncle, another unfamiliar face "Crap, he has three continuous spells. I suppose now you will sacrifice them for Hamon." Colin moaned. "No. I wont, I wont need Hamon. Unlike Illya and Xifos, I dont like using the demon gods." Instead he played a spell from his hand "I will show you: Rare Value! Cleo, choose which Crystal should be removed, so that I may draw two new cards" He asked her, she blinked. "Ehr, the Cat?" He accepted and sent the Amethyst to the cemetery, to draw two cards. "Good, I set one of them down. And this one I activate: Crystal Promise." One crystal started to glow. "It allows me to change a Crystal spell back into a Crystal Beast." The Ruby turned into a little blue creature (300/300). "This the Carbuncle's true form. And its effect is.."

"When the Carbuncle is special summoned, all crystals are revived!" Suddenly The Cobalt Eagle shed its crystal skin and flew towards the field (1400/800). "So far Cleo, you have not even touched me, and now I have four monsters. That means.. four attacks." He entered the battle phase, Pegasus slew the Zombie, The Eagle killed her Trial demon, and she received direct blows from the Ruby and Emerald beasts. "Damn you." She started to look very annoyed. "Finally, I use the effect of Cobalt Eagle. Once a turn I can send a monster back to my deck. I choose Pegasus." The horse left the field That way he could reuse its effect next turn. Cleo Caine, you disappoint me. Without your ring you have no hope. I will say it now, at your current level you can not harm me." He placed another trap and ended his turn. "I can not harm you? Screw you!"

Cleo's LP: 4400

She drew and looked at her hand. "I summon Spirit Reaper (300/200), and attack your Carbunble!" She called the grim reaper to slay the Ruby beast with his scythe, they had equal attack but her monster could not be destroyed as a result of battle. "You must be desperate to leave such an opening." Eidos retorted with a trap card: Crystal Pair. "This just generates more advantages for me." The trap would negate all further damage this turn, and send another Crystal Beast from his deck to his spell zone. He placed a Topaz Tiger gem next to the Ruby stone. "Openings, you think I will give one too you?" However she was not done yet, she used her spell card Mind Control. "I can brainwash one of your monsters, and I take your Tortoise!" But she could neither attack or sacrifice the mind controlled Tortoise. "Since he attacked this turn, I can switch the Reaper to defense mode with your monsters effect." The zombie put up his guard. "I see..." The Emerald Beast returned to his field, and Gem Flash Energy hit her for 600 damage.

Cleo's LP: 3800

"But even the strongest shield depends on his controller strength." His card was Sapphire Pegasus of course, which he resummoned (1800/1200). "Sapphire Pegasus summons the seventh crystal: Amber Mammoth, to my spell zone." Also he switched the Eagle to defense mode, and ended his turn. ".." And she did the same, without even playing anything. The duel seemed to be going nowhere. His next standby phase, Gem Flash Energy took down 900 of her lifepoints.. "We dont have all day you know." Colin fidgeted. "Yelling wont help either." William said softly. But then Eidos interjected "Your comrades are correct, you can not get passed me with defense alone." Cleo twitched. "You want action, you will get it! Spiritualism!" She targeted his continuous damage inflicting trap, sending it back to his hand. "I have had enough of that card." She hissed "And now I shall sacrifice my shield for a sword, Contract with the Dark Master!" She had drawn the ritual spell which was needed to summon Zorc. "Thats a gamble.."

Cleo's LP: 2900

And she tributed the five-star Yamimakai in her hand, and the three-star Reaper on her field, to call him out (2700/1500). "Impressive." The Demon and the girl roared. "Take this!" She tossed her dice, and it landed on a one. "No way!" The gang gasped in unison, and Zorc activated his ultimate effect. "When I roll a 1, all your monsters die: Catastrophe!" The demon wiped out the entire field, reducing the beasts to Sapphire and Emerald stones. "Most impressive." There was not even enough room for every casualty, so the Eagle had to go to the grave instead. "Am I good enough now?" She then declared a direct attack with Zorc. And Eidos did not know whether it was luck, or a spark of her old ability, that brought her this far. "However." He flipped his trap: Rainbow Path. "I said that could not touch me, and I stand by that claim." The trap could negate an attack, at the cost of a crystal. Zorcs flames were stopped by the sacrifice of the Sapphire Crystal. "And, there is more." He searched his deck. "Once used, this trap gives me a special card.." He added it to his hand. "Ultimate Crystal Lord: Rainbow Dragon." That did not sound good at all. "Set Trap card... end turn." She grumbled, not knowing whether or not that card was going to show up.

"Well then, now you can decide." But then he played the hand trading spell card: Exchange. "What? He wants them to switch cards, even though he just drew his trump card?" But it became clear what he was getting at, when she saw his hand: Gem Flash Energy, Rainbow Dragon and the demon god, Hamon. "Y..you had it all along?" She was shocked. Since he had three spells on his field, he could summon it, if it was left alone. "Decide, Cleo, how will you die? The hand of light, or the blade of darkness?" He at that time took her only card. "Tsch, I wont die." She rasped, and took Hamon from his hand, simply because she knew how painful that card was. "My trap will stop you." She boasted. "Is that true? Show me. Rainbow Dragon can only be special summoned when all seven crystal beasts are on my field or in the grave." And all seven had been played already. "Here it comes." The seven crystals started glowing, and their light formed the shape of a dragon. "I warned you!" She activated Bottomless Trap Hole, which could suck it up.

"No..It is I, that warned you." But suddenly a topaz shard flew from the spell zone, and destroyed her trap. "How?" She could not believe it. "You forgot my field spell card: Rainbow Ruins. It is not just for show, yt has several effects. For instance when three crystal beasts are in my spell zone, I can tribute one to negate a trap or spell card." She could not believe it, her last defense was shattered. "Now its time, Emerald, Amethyst, Cobalt, Sapphire, Ruby, Topaz and Amber. All seven colors of the Rainbow!" There it was, the magnificent crystal god (4000/4000) hit the field, illuminating the room with all colors. "Rainbow Flare!" It attacked and reduced Zorc to ashes with a spectral energy burst. "I am not yet gone you know." She rasped, she still had enough life left to struggle a little.

Cleo's LP: 1600

"I am sorry, but thats not true either. Did you already forget that you traded Hamon for this card?" The others were shocked when they saw what had been exchanged: Ectoplasmer. "No doubt you wanted to hold this back, as the monsters I could sacrifice where stronger than yours. But now I will use it, to end this." He activated the spell. During his endphase, he could sacrifice the Rainbow Dragon itself. "Feel it, feel the power of a true duelist!" The dragonic ectoplasm was formed, half of the dragons power (2000 atk) shot straight at her. "Ungh." She had to take it all, she had to...lose.

Cleo's LP: 0

(To be continued in Testament 074: Sesame, Open Thee!)

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine**  
Trial of Nightmare

**New Cards used by Eidos**  
Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus  
Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle  
Rainbow Dragon

-  
Crystal Release  
Ancient City - Rainbow Ruins

-  
Gem Flash Energy  
Crystal Pair  
Rainbow Path


	74. Testament 074: Sesame, Open Thee

Testament 074: Sesame, Open Thee

Cleo's LP: 0

She slumped to her knees, she cursed to herself, shehad noone to blame but herself. Eidos just stood there. "You have failed." He reached for his discarded communicator. _"She could not even get near him. That ring" _Christine thought and felt her grip on her disk tightening. "No, no you wont." A red glow came from her dueldisk, they all recognized it. "Hermos again?" Cable and the others were in awe, as she pulled out the card to rematerialized the Atlantian Dragon. Hermos the second atlantian beast stood before the yellow assassin. "We have to stop him, we will!" It smashed its claws down on the floor right above Cleo.

"Hey look out will you!" She snapped. The cyborg however did not budge. "Interesting, you can form solid visions from dueldisks like our soldiers. At least with this one card.." Eidos tilted his head to get a better look at the beast. "You want to fight me with this?" Hermos and Rose gave no answer, instead it raised its tail and lashed out at him. "That wont suffice!" And yet, he managed to jump above it. And then, he delivered a quick elbow to the beasts face, pushing it back. "Hey, can he do that? Is he that strong?" Eidos landed in front of Glyph again, who was still in his trance. "Dont make me repeat myself, I will not let you pass." Colin drew a card too. "Yeah well, two dragons are better then one!" He placed Critias in the disk as well. "Again?" But something strange happened, Critias did not materialize fully, and shattered before half of his body showed up. "Hey what gives!?" He shouted in confusion. "Illya happened. The wound from the Cloak and Dagger card is still fresh. These dragons arent just holograms, they are real souls."

"Thats crap. Can we beat this guy with one dragon?" Eidos shook his head. "That wont work. As Xifos said: We are equiped to resist any forms of Atlantian magic, and those dragons were made by Atlantians themselves. Do you even know how duel monsters are formed? And while the dragons are our superior if they fuse with other cards, alone they remain resistable. We can prevent them from becoming a threat in real-time duels." He then looked behind him. "Besides, you are too late." Everyone flinched. "What?" They looked beyond the assassin, and saw that the vampiric villain had begun to move.

He made a strange chortling sound, and after an uneasy silence, he spoke. "We're in." He laughed maniacally. "The door is open, we can all get in!" He raised his hands, throwing the rod aside as if he did not want it anymore. "Let us do it right now!" Instead he took hold of the puzzle, which glowed brighter then ever before. "Now?" Eidos was surprised by his intent. "Eheh. I waited too long for this, I wont wait to see if its safe." Before anyone could say anything, a bright flash engulfed the room. It took over the entire city in fact, swallowing all buildings, troopers and vehicles. Hermos screamed out loud as the light claimed her too, reverting the dragon back to its card form. And Eidos quickly flew backwards, grabbing the vampire, before they disappeared. The light lasted for what must have seemed like a decade, and finally it went down.

"The hell...happened?" They could open their eyes again, and they could see the effects. "Where is.." Everyone was gone, everyone but themselves. It had gotten a lot quieter outside as well. The only thing left behind was the Puzzle. A quick check later proved that the light had affected more than just Glyph and Eidos. "Hrn, nobody inside the museum, but there are still people outside." Rose looked out the window. The city was still teeming with hazmat suits, who started to quarantaine building after building, cleaning up one body after the other. "Where did everyone else go?" Nero asked. Though he did not expect an answer, someone had one. "The world of memories." Jackson said. "Glyph went into the puzzle, to find the Pharaohs Gods. He must have affected only a small selection of people, and sent them." And with all the other weird stuff they had seen and heard, this story did not at all sound unlikely. "But did his body go there too, or just his mind? If so.. where Is his body?" Nobody knew.

Cable inspected the slab, and turned to Jackson. "Jack, you said you could hear the voice of that spirit. Who was he, was he a memory from the puzzle as well?" But Doe could only shrug. "I do not know that much." He said with a calm tone. "Yet we believe that the spirit escaped the puzzle before it was taken by Glyph, a part of him at least." The part that haunted Cleo "We just can not sense it anymore, the light seems to have taken him too. Glyph absorbed all memories into that slab, all souls." He noticed the three monster images again, the three pillars. "Those three, thats what he is after. The assassins used demon gods which resemble those pictures, dont they?" Uria resembled the red dragon, Hamon resembled the yellow Gryphon and Raviel resembled the blue Soldier. "Everything comes in three, huh. I half-expect a third dragon to appear." And Carter expected it to be yellow-ish. "Perhaps, but Glyph wanted those gods much, he even abandoned his rod and puzzle."

The item still lied on the floor in front of Cleo, she looked at it as if she was disgusted. "Well, you did lose, but at least you can take back the ring now. Cant you?" Rose approached her. "Tsch. I don't..want too." She got up. "Huh, why?" And Caine turned away from it. "If I take it now, I will prove that jerk right. He called me worthless, because I need a small ring to play a game!" She snapped at her. "And I dont want to give him the satisfaction. Next time I will beat him, with this deck, with my own skills. Besides, unlike Nero, I dont have any emotional attachment to my part of the puzzle. I just found it somewhere.." Rose backed down. "Sorry, I didnt mean to.." Nero overheard her rant as well. "I think its better that way. We probably need to keep the puzzle intact." He did not mind losing the piece his father gave him. "But what do we do with it?" He picked it up. "Yes, it needs to stay whole." When a familiar voice spoke to them. One that had been sleeping for a long time. "Anima?" He was silenced no more. "When did you get up?"

"Just now. I felt a refreshing aura, an aura of millenium magic." It was obvious, that the ritual jumpstarted his soul. He looked around, looking more awake then ever. "And I see now that I was too late, Glyph came here first." He sighed, and touched the slab. "You wanted us to be here, right?" Carter said, and he nodded. "But if you want to ask how I found this place. I will keep it short: Xifos was right." He raised his hand, revealing a glowing golden aura. Just like the puzzle's glow. "I mimic the energy of anything around me, I have no powers of my own, only shadows. One day I will tell you how this started, but time is of the essence here." He glared at everyone. "I came here, because my power was its greatest here. The slab is the source, the door of memories. Beyond it lies an untapped wealth of magic and power." He tapped it softly. "Okay, but then what do we do? I do not want to see Glyph return to the living with three powerful gods or whatever." Colin said. "Its easy... I said that I can imitate magic. Therfor, I can imitate the ritual..

"The spell that he just performed." He pointed at the Puzzle, the Slab and the Ankh. "All the key elements are still here, the only problem is time. Soon the remaining guards will investigate this place, and confiscate the millenium items and capture us." He took the puzzle from Nero and gathered more mana. "You can do what he did, send us there as well?" Nero asked. "Where, where what, what where?" Others were more or less nonplussed. "To whatever dimension Glyph and 'the spirit' were headed for." The level of light rose again, almost as bright as before. "You must decide now if you want to follow, I know not what awaits you there." It was too late to turn it off now. "Gah its true, especially if Justine is still around giving orders to those mindless servants. I'd rather be there then here." Colin panicked. "I have a score to settle with someone." Cleo hissed. "And Ned would want us to stop him, to stop all of Tumaga." Carter spoke for the others. Jackson, Nero and Rose accepted it without words.

Jackon at that point, turned to Cable Fraser. "My friend, you had better stay behind. One of us should stay to keep the items and puzzle save." Doe told his companion, and he nodded. "I see. Good luck my friend." He smiled, and then the light came at its brightest. "It is time!" Anima shouted, as everyone around him, except for Fraser, was swallowed by the light. And when it died down a second time, two people stayed behind. "Wh..what?" But Anima did not expect this, that he remained in this world. "They are.." But also the bodies of everyone else were also still lying on the floor. "Their souls alone took the journey. I was affraid of this." This meant that whatever Eidos had done in the last few seconds, had brought Glyph outside the museum. "But if their souls are missing, what will happen to them here, if they get hurt there?"

The trip itself was a wild one, one minute they were inside the museum room, the next they travelled through a bright and chaotic road. They left behind their shapes, feeling out of touch from all physical reality. The duelists passed through stars, clouds, tunnels, and then over an endless golden landscape. The picture became clearer and clearer, they were able to distinguish the environment. Above a desert, a wide plane with nothing but rocks, sand and a nearly completed pyramid on the horizon, thats where they were. "Wait, thats." Just then the force called gravity returned, and everyone fell down to the ground with alarming speeds. Closer and closer, the floor got, and then they felt solid matter at last, landing abruptly yet painlesslu. "Whoa. That was even trippier then the last vision." Probably because this one was a one-way journey so far. Carter fought the need to throw up. "Blegh." Eventually their nausea subsided, and they could focus on their surroundings "So, where are we, is this inside the stone tablet?"

They stood on top of a mountain slope, which gave a good view of the area. "A city?" In front of them was a large yet ancient metropolis, placed in the middle of a desert, next to a large river. "I guess thats..the Nile. Then this is..Egypt?" Nero gasped. "This does not look very modern to me..is this ancient Egypt?" Nobody knew for sure, they were not even sure if this was all real. Until they saw what they were wearing. "Holy smokes, whats this stuff?" Christine and Cleo had unusual long dresses on, while the guys had robes and capes. "I doubt that this is a real place. These must be the clothes of the old times." At least they could not look so out of place. "He called it the Memory world, the stone was the canvas, and the Puzzle the projector." William scraped the sand, and took a handful. "A very solid projection ." Grains were flowing through his hand, every one of them felt real to the touch. These new clothes also felt very solid. "This must be where it all began. For Duel monsters and duels.."

"Time and again, Tumaga said that the card game was linked to the ancient cities. It makes sense now, a little. Glyph is after the Pharaoh himself, or his memory, or something of him. Supposedly, here he will find the three big monsters. But... where are they?" Glyph and his cronies were nowhere near their position anymore, they had to have moved on already. "How much time had passed? How much time does pass in a place like this? For all we know he could already have found what he needed." They took one look at the city again. "Well, I assume thats its good news that the place isn ot on fire yet. Still we should probably warn the people...can they even see us?" If this was just a projection, would they be able to influence the world at all? "We might.. since this place bothered to give us new clothes." They now realized they did not have any dueldisks with them. "This will be unusual. Well we will see that, when...wait." But before they went down the slope. "Who are you?" They saw a strange new face.

Where Jackson once stood, was now a man, with white hair, gray skin and red pupils. "What? You do not recognize me?" His voice was familiar though, it was one of Jacksons many voices. "Jackson, you are.."

Doe touched his own face. "This is.." His hair was short and grey, his skin was pitchblack and his eyes yellow. "Interesting. Its the real me, Orpheus Doe." He had taken the shape of one of his monsters, the Persona of The Fool. "This place works different. Our bodies are not in here, but our souls. And we are all here too." He explained. "I see. Well, can you take somebody elses face? Something that wont terrify the citizens?" Cleo asked him. "We shall try."

Though the heroes had traversed the barriers of reality to get here, their unusual arrival was not unseen by the eyes of magic. "The Ring senses..a disturbance." A man said. He was surrounded by five other figures, two women and three other men. "A disturbance that I can not give shape, I have never sensed anything like it." The others nodded and talked amongst themselves. "Intruders then. We should inform the Pharaoh." The tallest man said. "No, we do not need to disrupt the slumber of our ailing lord." The tallest female replied with a stern tone. "I will deal with these intruders myself." And her left eye began to glow.

(To be continued in Testament 075: World of Memories)


	75. Testament 075: World of Memories

Testament 075: World of Memories

The heroes had entered a new world, one that was so strange that they had to lay down some rules. "So we can touch stuff, I guess we can be seen by stuff." They walked towards the city. "Wait..if Doe can change his appearance.." By now Jackson had managed to take a more human appearance, using the face of his Lucifer Persona. "... cant we do the same?" William said, as he clenched his fist. "What are you doing?" Cleo stared at him. "Imagining myself a more stylish outfit." He closed his eyes and concentrated. Then a long silence followed. "Does not work, does it?" She sneered. "No." He sighed and lowered his hands. "We are supposed to reflect memories, I imagine our standard clothes do not fit into this pharaoh's memories." Nero wondered. "Still, I assume his memories connected with some of us somehow, which is why we can be in here. So this is not a reflection of his soul alone, its ours as well. Unfortunately Glyph is a part of this world too now, since he finished the puzzle. And all his friends can enter as well."

At last they reached the city outskirts. The Palace was on the eastside of the city, so was the royal garden. Both buildings lied next the river Nile. Smaller homes were located in between the river and the mountainside, some stacked on top of each other The pyramid was in the west, placed in such a way that it would cover the setting sun. "I saw that image before. When the puzzle lightened up the first time, maybe thats when...." Colin stopped talking, remembering that moment made him think of Ananka again. "Anyway.. dont they use slaves to build those?" He changed the subject. "Well no, that was disproven recently. The people get payed for their services, the men work to feed their families or something." Nero said. He learned that from his old man, the archeologist. "Then what about the bible, Mozes and such?" Caine asked him next. "Ehr, well, I can not tell which era or which Pharaoh this is." He shrugged. "Guys, anybody know what we're going to tell the king? I mean thats a big palace, they wont just let us in."

They went around the city at first, because they knew the villagers would give them funny looks, even with their in-style clothes. If they were to approach royalty, they needed a good cover story. "That place looks very inviting, albeit somewhat ancient." Colin sighed, because they now saw that the palace was sealed behind 30-foot high walls, and there were guards at every post. "Yes, we'd need some firepower to break through that." Colin smirked. "I would not suggest that course of action, we need to appease to the royal house's wisdom. Violence will only get us in jail." Jackson explained. "Right now we look like we came from another corner of this country, and.." Though as he spoke, suddenly a large explosion was set off in the background, which knocked down a sizable part of the walls. "Convenient." Smoke rose from the rubble, and the soldiers sounded their alarm. "That wasn't us." Nero gasped. "Obviously!" They ran closer to the scene and hid behind a row of statues and palm trees. "Xifos!"

The ones that had breached the walls were soon greeted by dozens of soldiers, equiped with spears and scimitars. "How dare you damage the royal palace, intruder! You shall be punished." One of them snarled at the invader, dressed in black armor. "Punishment eh? Give it your best shot." The man was of course Xifos, the darkblue assassin. But he did not come alone, he had a platoon of Orichalcos Soldiers with him. Armored to the bone, and eager to unleash carnage. "It cant be." One of the guards flinched. "The Atlantian regiment? Its back!" He stumbled backwards. "Fool, dont show fear. Attack now!" The captain of the guard grunted, and they charged. "Hm? You know these types, curious.." But their offense was useless in the face of such adversity. Their weapons shattered against the armor of the evil troops.

The captains sword could not even scratch the helmet of Edgar/Xifos. "Surprising, considering the apparent extent of your powers, how did you survive previous encounters?" He grabbed the mans arm and broke it. "Gah!" The man fell to the floor screaming. "Still so fragile." He moved forward. "Kill them all." Then the Orichalcos soldiers counter-attacked, crushing their opposition with blade-arms and gauntlets. "Its just like before." The others still watched from afar. "How is it possible that they get their fancy armor, while we are stuck with robes? Thats not fair." Cleo rasped. "We cant just stand here, can we?" Christine refused to sit still, she had to get out there and help them. "But what can we do? We do not even have weapons!" Colin said loudly "Well if we came all this way here, and we can not even defeat him, what good can we do?" Nero yelled back. "We duel, we dont fight to the death. I dont think Xifos is in the mood to play a cardgame." Caine also yelled, it was a miracle nobody heard them. "Wait...can we?"

"Gggh, curse you." The captain still held his crushed hand. "Hmph, how saddening. The Roman Era would probably have been more entertaining." Xifos mused, reminiscing to his old Gladiator-type deck. All around troops were beaten down. Few had managed to actually damage the enemy army, but it was not enough to stop them, not even the cavalry could help. "Ah well, more food for the masses." The soldiers ultimately activated their Orichalcos Seal, and sucked up the souls of their victims. "Damn, its just like that time." The man grunted, trying to crawl away. "Time to meet your gods, heh." Xifos lowered his hand right in front of the man, and was about to shoot a spike between his eyes. "No you don't!" But then he noticed an energy blast coming straight at him. "Whats this?" He jumped into the air, dodged the attack, and landed away from his intended kill. "Who?" He glared to the west, and saw six people he did not expect to see again. "You? You are here?" At the same time, the Orichalcos soldiers stopped their attacks.

It was not a facade, those six were here. "How did you get in here?" He rasped. "Better yet, how did you fire that attack?" They responded by showing the one that attacked. "We wont let you kill those people, memories or not." Christine had summoned a monster to stand by her side. It was Bill Baker who fired the beam. It was just like she did back at the tournament, summoning real monsters from cards. "Then you learn quickly, already you know how to use your own memories in this world." He laughed and walked towards them. "Well actually.." It was more on instinct, all Rose knew was that she wanted to help. And suddenly she realized she had her deck on her person. "Yet, is there more?" Before they realized it, he fired his spike at last, and it hit Bill in the chest. "No!" The warrior fell over backwards, reduced to smoke and ashes, rather then disappearing like a hologram. "Yes there is!" But Nero had already summoned his monster: E-hero Thunder Giant. Seeing Rose summon hers, awakened his talent too. "Take him down!"

The giant released electricity, unfortunately Xifos evaded that as well. Instead the thunder struck down one of his soldiers. "Tsch, you cant dodge all six of us!" Then everyone drew their cards, and summoned their creatures. "Feh." The surviving egyptians got up again, and saw the newcomers take on the enemy. Warriors, Infernal Generals, Dinosaurs and Skull Temples battled against the soldiers, each side took hits. Jackson could handle himself even. Jackson Lucifer Doe needed no monster spirit to fight for him, he could shatter their armor easily "Who are..these people? Where did they come from?" The Atlantians were actually given a good fight, and the cyborg watched all of this real-time dueling from above. "Tsk, Glyph wont like that they followed him. Do they care about these projections so much, or are they just vindictive?" He turned around, and stared at the palace. "But, a mission was given. It wont be stopped by you." He reloaded the spikes in his arms, and flew towards the building. "No, stop!"

There were to many demons in their way, they could not do anything. "He is going after the Pharaoh!" The royal guard cursed. It looked like the enemy would make it, but just then someone stepped out of the main gate. "What?" Xifos brought himself to a halt. "And who might you be?" He asked the woman in front of him. She did not answer, she merely glared. "I can almost read your mind. Invader." She walked out of the shadows, unveiling herself to the enemy. "What are you saying?" This woman was dressed in white robes, with a golden belt and bracelets, she looked more royal then anyone else here. "I do not repeat myself, invader. I can tell that you harbor great hatred, but not against us. You must be here for the sake of your superiors." She looked up, and brushed aside her dark hair. "That is." And her left eye revealed itself, it was golden, and carried the symbol of Wadjet. "The Millenium Eye, the fourth item!" The woman nodded. "Yes, I am the priest of the Pharaoh: Lady Neith." The arrival of the priestess caught everyone's attention. "Get out of the way, woman." Xifos ignored the priest, and her strange eye, and tried to fly over her. "You shall not set foot in this hallowed place." She retorted and extended her hands.

"Come to me."

Suddenly a beam of energy shot from her body. "What?" It knocked Xifos back and blasted into the large building left of the palace. "The shrine!" One of the wounded soldiers exclaimed with joy. "Monster sealed within the stone slab, Ka that rests within my body. I summon thee: Twinheaded Beast!" Before her, came a two-headed lion with flaming manes. "That is." It was a creature they recognized from the card game. "No way, the game _is_ tied to these egyptians." Cleo was most stunned of all. "Attack with Gemini Inferno!" And her lion released two shots of fire, Xifos managed to dodge one and got nailed by the other. "A hit!" He was thrown against a nearby pillar, and dropped to the ground. "Ggh, so this is what 'a priest' does. Those items are the 'disks' of the past, and the temple is the deck.." Cheers came from all over the place, and the soldiers mustered the courage to fight back against the soldiers. ".." At that point in time, Neith noticed the duelists. "More intruders?" But before she could turn on them, the cyborg rose up again.

"Geheh, that hurt, priest. But now you can expect a counter-attack." His body started convulsing. "What is he doing?" Colin saw his armor throb with veins, as if it were no longer made of metal. "He is..changing!" Doe gasped. "Fall back now!" Xifos's cape was torn, his body started to grow. The plates on his body twisted shape, and their color faded. "No...that form." And slowly he became a more frightening image, that of Raviel: The Phantasm Demon. "It is... the blue scourge!" The soldiers recognized that form as well. "Impossible." Even Neith was surprised. "Heheh. In this world, the souls true form is revealed. Not Edgar, not Xifos. There is only Raviel." He was no longer a cyborg that could summon Raviel, he was the demon god itself. "Edgar changed a lot, didnt he?" Immediately, he crushed the smaller Lion beast under his feet. The attack sent shockwaves all over the place, knocking down soldiers and breaking pillars. "This is the power of Orichalcos!" He spoke with the voice of his demonic identity.

"I did not foresee this. The invaders have revived the false gods." The priestess grunted, while glancing at the temple on her left. "False Gods? Feh, there is no power that surpasses this. Come on priest, call out your next monster, I will crush it just as easily!" He roared. "Hey Edgar!" Nero shouted. "We are still here!" The demon glared at the small ones behind him. The mentioning of his human name annoyed him. "So you are." And he immediately released a beam of dark energy, which desintegrated Nero's current warrior. "You are not worth the time, you came here for nothing!" Jacobus fell on his back, and others stepped up to replace him. "None of you are!" He was about to lay waste to all their monsters, when Colin and Christine pulled out their dragon cards. "Huh?" They started to glow. "Get ready!" Only nothing happened except for the glow. "Hey?" And Raviel just stood there, revealing a grin on that mangled face of his. "Gheheh, idiots. You can not summon what these people dont remember!" Their eyes widened with shock.

"Yes. They remember the terror of the sacred demon, but they never met the Atlantian dragons!" He snorted. "What? That can't be true, there has to be." Raviel did not wait for them to gain their senses and fired a blast of energy in between them, sending them flying all over the place. "Insects." He did not even feel like killing them, and looked back at the woman. "Tsch, and you have not even summoned a new monster yet. Whats the problem, is there nothing in that temple of yours that can match this power?" He clenched his fists, eager to flatten her. "The opposition was graver then I thought, yes. Thats why." But from the gate, more people came. "I called out assistance. Invader, allow me to introduce to you to the ones that will judge you for your crimes." Four men and another female stepped out. "The Six Priests of the Pharaoh."

"Taurt of the Scales." First came a tall and bald man, who had a large tattoo on the left side of his body. "Osirid of the Ring!" Next came a smaller older man whose face was covered by a hood. "Kiya of the Key" The woman was third. She wore a veil, a tiara and a long cape. "Mentu of the Tauk." The necklace-wielder followed, he wore the familiar egyptian wig and his cape covered his left shoulder. "Ankhaten of the Rod!" Finally, there was the priest with a blue uniform. "The Six Priests of the Pharaoh have arrived!"

(To be continued in Testament 76: The Pharaohs Six Priests)


	76. Testament 076: The Pharaohs Six Priests

Testament 076: The Pharaohs Six Priests

The real world was not much calmer. Cable and Anima were tasked with carrying the soulless boides of their friends, they had to hide all six back in the basement. "I do not get why I did not go with them." He sighed, as he closed the doors above him. Not to soon, as soon Hazmat patrol broke into the building. "How long can we hide in here?" Fraser wondered. "Not too long, they will want to know where the bodies went." He listened closely to the soldiers above. If it came to it, he would have to steal their powers and fight his way out. "Did they make it?" He asked Anima. A long pause followed. "Anima?" The other flinched and turned around. "What...oh sorry... I did not hear you. I was thinking too much I assume.." He shrugged. "I do not know, but I have a good feeling about it." Cable nodded, but he was not so sure.

And far above them, was Justine's main blimp. For if the good guys needed a room to store their friends in, so did she. Eidos had carried Glyph there in time, before the flash sucked all their souls into the Memory World. And she stayed behind to oversee the project. The hazmat troops had succesfully sealed of the place, nobody would come in or out. Meanwhile through the Cyborgs, she could send the souls of Orichalcos demon warriors into the new world. "I cant imagine what you are thinking, Glyph." She mused as she was hitting away at the keyboards. "But I dont want to miss out on all the fun." And Glyph stood in the middle of the gondola, like a statue. Most of his mind was sent into the stone tablet world, he only left enough behind to keep his body functioning. "So I am going to open a second account."

Back at the Memory World

"I summon thee: LightandDarknessDragon!" With the Millenium Scales, Taurt summoned a dragon made of light and dark energy. "I summon thee: Dark Ruler Hades" With the ring on Osirids chest he called out the demonic hell lord. "I summon thee: Dark Red Enchanter!" Kiya used the Key in her hand to call out a mage from the black magic clan. "I summon thee: Splendid Venus." Mentu called out the armored angel with the tauk around his neck. "I summon thee: Gilford the Lightning!" Finally Ankhaten called out a warrior-type. "Diara!" The duel began in full force. Five monsters bombarded their enemy Raviel with black mana, light flames and holy lightning. "He is finished!" Gilford jumped through the smoke to deliver a fatal blow at the demons chest. "Do not get cocky!" But a large claw came from the smoke screen, and grabbed the sword. "Ugh, he persevered!" Ankhaten cursed. Then Raviel swiped the dust aside, and snapped Gilfords blade in half. "This is all? How pitiful, the kings men cant even defeat one demon god."

The blue beast crackled with energy. "I can sense ...rising malice! Soldiers, get out of range!" Kiya's key started trembling, it was a sign that Xifos was building up energy. "Phantasmal Wave!" The enemy spread out his wings and released black waves that shattered all monster spirits around him. Only the Dragon and Magician were fast enough to avoid lethal hits. "Ggh, his Ka is strong." Mentu cringed from pain, as his angel fell down again. "Stand ground, we will not yield to him!" Lady Neith shouted. "Lord Taurt, its time!" She spoke to the tattood man, and he nodded. "Very well, the ability of the scales!" He raised his item. "Kiya, join your Ka with mine." The girl nodded and sent her Red Magician towards the black and white dragon. "Now what?" Raviel flew higher and higher, wondering what they were up to. "This is the power of the scales, demon! The power of Fusion!" Then the two spirits were merged by the magic of his scales. "No way!" Dragon and Wizard fused to form. "Darkred and Lightred Enchanter!"

Down below stood a spellcaster with dragon wings, and one half of its scaled armor was dark, the other bright red. "You think that will stop me?" He fired another Phantasm Wave at their monster. "Priests, unite your Ka!" But then all six priests raised their millenium items, channeled their energy into the monster, and the mage extended his staff. "Crimson Twilight!" It released a magic blast that knocked back Raviels own attack. "It can not be!" And then the twilight magic hit Raviel himself. "This is your judgment!" They yelled in unison, as he was blasted away. "Gaaaaah!" While the beam could not damage the sacred demon, the force itself was enough to drive him far into the distance, eliminating that threat at least. "Hurray! The power of the priests is unsurpassed still!" The soldiers cheered.

"Whoa, so thats what those things do." The present-day duelists just stood there with open mouths. "I am beginning to wonder if we really are needed here. These guys can protect the king quite well..." Aside from killing the remaining Orichalcos titans, they did not get to do much. "Hmm?" Just then the six servants caught eye of the other 'invaders'. "You also dare to intrude on royal grounds?" Neith rasped. "Huh? Oh.. no, wait what?!" They flinched. "You too shall be judged." Taurt seemed most upset, as he sent his fused dragon mage to them immediately. "Just give the word, and I will erase them as well." He said to the Lady. "Wait, we came here to help you!" Christine protested. "Help us?" Kiya repeated. "Likely story, are you with them?" Osirid grunted, extending his scales menacingly. "No we're not!" That should have been obvious when they started taking down his soldiers. "We shall see." The lady stared at them, with her 'special eye'. "Their minds are just as hard to read as the previous one...but I sense no lies."

She said that, but the lady still looked displeased. "And what does the Key tell you about their Ka, Kiya?" The tattood priest asked the girl. "Their soul is not like the Atlantians, their energy is chaotic, but neutral, possibly even lawful." Taurt started to calm down, upon hearing this. "Hmph, and my scales are not weighing heavy sins." His item tilted mostly in one direction. "Does that mean we passed the test?" Colin asked softly. "Likely so, but there is still something strange about your group." The priests settled down, retracting their items, and the guard sheathed their blades. "But, where did you come from? Your attire indicates you are not from this city, but you were the robes of priests and you possess the power to manifest Ka. Only two countries know of that power.. And one of them is in ruins now."

"Ehr, we come from.." William did not know what kind of regions Egypt had in this time, so he winged it. "Canada, ehr yeah Canada." He had to resist a laugh, and tried to keep a straight face. "I never heard of that place, where does it lie?" Ankhaten did not give up his doubts so quickly. "Its in west, beyond the horizon. Near the edge of the world." He continued, and hoped that it would work. "Interesting." The priest merely smirked and turned away from the gang. "If you are not atlantian, we can not tell how you obtained this power, it puzzles us." He spoke, not looking at either of them. "Never the less, you have shown courage and honesty, all six priests can attest to that. So, we would like to welcome you in our midsts. Mostly for questioning, after that we will see if rewards or judgments are in order..."

The blast of the fused dragonmage was still carrying the demongod across the desert scape. "Ggghaah!" Eventually Xifos mustered enough force to throw himself off the beam, and it travelled further into the distance without him. _"Tsch, unexpected resistance. The troops are gone." _Raviel began to quiver, and he grew back into his cybernetic form._ "And they wounded... a sacred beast. These memories are good, too good." _Xifos opened his communicator. _"This is Xifos reporting in. Initial assault failed, loss of men: 90 %. Returning to base, now." _He closed it again and flew to the south. A moment later he arrived at the hideout that Glyph had selected for his operation. It was a dark and dry tomb, one befitting of a 'vampire' like him. He himself sequestered himself in the corners of his dungeon, surrounded by strange technology.

It looked like tools common to modern age, except instead of wires, everything was connected by throbbing veins. It was like a techno-organic nightmare, and he was its master. "Ah yes Xifos.." Apparently the memories he and his men had off Tumaga technology was enough to infect the memory world with such advances. "Come in.." The black cyborg entered upon hearing Glyphs voice. Illya and Eidos were inside already, so were a few more soldiers. "I have read your report, Xifos, very entertaining. You took a full platoon, and yet you could not even crush one priest." He did not respond, even though he wanted too. "And the children are here as well, I guess they could not leave an old man alone." His face was obscured by shadows, but one could easily tell how much he had aged in this world Then Eidos turned to the villain. "They would not have come here, if you had not rushed the mission." He said, referring to Glyphs maniacal glee after he finished the ritual. Eidos barely had enough time to secure him.

"I explained the effects of the Memory World tour, machine." He coughed. "You did not tell us that we all would be crossing over so fast." He responded, but the vampire did not hear him through. "It was not me that dropped the puzzle. And it was not me that forgot that Anima could copy powers. No doubt 'the shadow' played a hand in this, and thats why he is not here right now." He smiled feintly. "Never mind him, a few more children will not stop us from finding the true soul amongst a sea of memories." He coughed some more. "Now, I called you here to dicuss the change of plans. We wait until Justine sends another batallion of Orichalcos souls into this dimension. In the mean time, your dueldisks will be upgraded." He grinned, revealing his rotting teeth. "They will get detectors, they will help you on your search." They looked at the disks on their hands. "Seacrh duty? How lame." Illya hissed. "What are we supposed to look for?" Eidos asked. "The blinking light. Thats all you need to know.. machine man."

"And thats the whole story." The duelists had finished their story. They told it as vague as possible, leaving out details while following the truth in general. "I see, you suffered an attack from the Orichalcos tribe. These cultists want to raise Atlantis again and their former glory with it. So they stole souls from your powerful region, and now they strike Egypt as well." Neith rasped. "Ehr yeah, what happened to them again?" Colin asked with care. "That city was doomed the moment they indulged in the power of their stones. Obsession cost them the city, only remnants of their power remain." In any case, it looked like the story stuck, for now_. "Its a good thing that the eye can not see into the memories of the future_." Doe assumed that that that was the reason for Lady Neith not seeing through the facade yet. Cleo was more concerned with how it hurt to have such a thing inside your eyesocket. "Well I can see why they would be after you. Your power is great as well. Thats why we came here, to help you against a common foe."

They were moving now, walking into the palace. This they saw as a good thing. "We will see. We can also assume that they were after the Pharaoh.. if they have the sacred demons." Mentu wanted to say more, but Ankhaten gave him a severe look, and he silenced himself. "Wait is that.." The others went quiet as well, when they approached the throne room. There in the throne, sat a single withering figure. He resembled a Pharaoh, he certainly had the right attire, but he did not look to good. "Lower your heads." Jackson whispered, and the others quickly bowed. Ankhaten and Taurt watched them closely, while Neith walked over to the throne. "My lord, these are the visitors. They come from the region of Canada." Once again they had to resist a chuckle. "I see." The man replied weakly, he did not even sound healthy. "Welcome." There were more people present, children, young and old. "Are those your children, my lord?" Nero asked him. "They are." Neith talked for him. "They are ours. I am Lady Neith, the queen, and this is The Pharaoh."

Then the tallest son walked forward. We should also introduce ourselves, should we not?" The oldest son said, as he bowed. "My name is Raness." He then pointed at his two siblings. "This is my sister, Senes, and my brother Tremu. We are all pleased to meet you." They too bowed. "Thank you." Rose replied with a smile. "I see everything is in order here. Now I have business to attend to." Taurt excused himself. "What is that?" Jackaon asked another priest. "Taurt oversees the royal shrine. That is where we hide our slabs from which we summon our Ka. Which reminds me, you still have to explain to us how you can summon yours." Ankhaten grumbled. "Calm down Lord Ankhaten, we can discuss this over dinner." Mentu smiled. "These generous hosts may expect nothing less." The duelists blinked. "Ehr... thank you." Colin laughed nervously. "Still feeling a bit uncomfortable." He whispered to Nero "I mean...Can we even eat, isn't it a memory along with the rest of these people?" Nero shrugged.

At the same time, Taurt entered the temple. When a shaft of light struck his shrine. He did sense something was up, since his scales started to tilt to the left as soon as it hit. "What is this, an evil presence...one..them?" He turned around, and walked through the rows and rows of stone tablets, all placed against the walls. Eventually he ended up in a cross section in the middle of eight rows. "Who goes there?" He snapped his fingers, and all torches were lit. "Show yourself, intruder!" He raised his scales, and sent his mana into the surrounding area. He intended to summon a Ka from the walls, to deal with whoever trespassed on this sacred ground. But what came from the shadows was not what he expected, it was a young female. "Who.." She wore the strangest clothes, fur and some purple form of satin. "Are you with them?" He raised his tone of voice, and monsters started to crawl from the walls. "Them? Oh no, I am alone." She said. "And so are you, and thats convenient..for me." She swept her hair aside to give the man a proper inspection. "I am Loveless, of the Tumaga branch. And I am here for you, my dear. Or to be exact, I am here to claim your Millenium Scales."

(To be continued in Testament 077: Mal Appetite)


	77. Testament 077: Mal Appetit

Testament 077: Mal Appetite)

"Guess we _can_ eat." Colin tasted some of the food in front of him, it was quite delicious. The pharaoh himself had declined, choosing to stay on his throne. "He knows the end is coming, the time for him to leave his physical shell. But the pyramid has not yet been finished. The Pharaoh continues to rule until his tomb is ready." Mentu explained. He was easily the most talkative of the priests, the others mostly chose to look grim and surly. "But everyone else is here, we can talk about you." Yet suddenly Ankhaten interjected. "This Canada, I have never heard of such a region. Where is it, and how did your people learn to summon Ka?" He released a string of questions. "Ehr, Canada well we.." Nero gulped down a piece of meat. "Well we invented a portable way of dealing with sealed Ka's, you see." He coughed, it was time to put up a really good tale. Then he took out a plastic YGO card. "What?" The priest flinched, nearly defending himself. "We sealed monster spirits in these.. they're made from a special Canadian material."

The card was of course mere cardboard, but such material was advanced in this age. "Amazing. Its like Papyrus, but stronger." Kiya took the card, and felt it "We never considered that Ka could be sealed in something so small." She passed it around, the children were most excited. "Then you came here, to help us, or to teach us? You seem to know a lot about us, our abilities, our language." Ankhaten grunted. '"Your language? We're not speaking english then?" It was something they had not yet noticed, but these ancient Egyptians could all speak fluent modern english. _"Must be another adjustment to the memories, like the new set of clothes."_ They also noticed that the priests glared at them. "Ehr yes. We reached word that the Orichalcos would come after you next. We heard something about the three great powers." Jackson continued where Nero left off. And when she mentioned that name, everyone went silent. "Oh, did I say.." And Lady Neith rose from her seat. "We already know this, strangers."

"The atlantians had their own way to summon spirits, and they too developed three great powers. But theirs were just demonic imitations, they desired ours still." Her golden eye watched at each and every one of the duelists. "_Get the feeling that she doesnt like us_.." Cleo did not enjoy being looked at by the priests. Especially Ankhaten, since his item was the same as Glyphs. "I think we have spoken enough for now. You have gained our trust, and we will accept your assistance in taking down this threat. Alas, since we have no place for visitors in the palace, you will have to spend the night in of the wall quarters. The guards will allow you access anywhere inside the walls." Neith excused herself as well, and walked out of the room. Though as soon as she did, one of the guards approached her. "My Lady, why do we allow these people in our sacred ground? We can not trust a word they say." But the woman only smirked. "I know." And walked away from the soldier. "I know that they are lying, thats why..."

So they departed the garden, saying goodbye to all the others. "I shall lead you to your quarters." Osirid spoke for once, whereas he usually preferred to stay silent. "Thanks." They followed the priest, and passed several large structures. They could see the entire town from where they were walking. _"I wonder where Glyph is hiding." _Caine stared into the distance, he could have been everywhere. Meanwhile, Christine looked into the other direction, where she saw something odd. "Huh?" It looked like a beam of light, that quickly shot into a nearby temple, as if it had been hit by a falling star. "What was that?" She pointed to the place, and Osirid looked with her. But nobody saw what she had seen. "That? Thats the library, its where all Ka tablets are kept. Taurt is the guardian of that place, only priests can go there." That was the place that Taurt excused himself for, so he could guard it. "Dont mind that location, just go to your rooms" He said, but she could not stop looking, she had every reason to be worried.

They finally arrived at their quarters. "Canadians?" Cleo hissed. "Is that the best you could come up with? I'd rather be french" She was clearly not happy with Williams choice of nationality. "Guys, calm down. The important thing is, that they believed it....right?" Carter looked at Jackson, he shrugged. "Thats comforting." At least their beds were soft enough to sleep on. "I just wonder, if its okay for us to sleep here. Who knows what Cable and Anima are going through." Nero sighed. "That is, if time passes at all down here." They could not tell. "Guys." Just then, Colin walked to a window. "Where did Christine go again?" The others stared at each other. "Wait, she did not follow us? Where is she!" It did not take long for them to realize where she had gone. "Oh no.."

Because Justine stood face to face with said Priest, surrounded by monsters that came from slabs on the wall. "I see, so thats how you people worked. You measure Ka energy from your citizens, judge them to be innocent or guilty, and then seal their inner monster into one of these. Quite a collection you have." She reached for something in her pockets. "You did not answer the question! Who are you, what do you want?" Taurt used his Item to control the monster horde, closing in on her. "Oh, forgive me. I was too fascinated with your army to respond immediately. Allthough, thats more than one question, is it not?" She revealed a strange device, which he could not identify. "Lets take care of the noise, then I can answer you properly." She clicked a button on her remote control, and suddenly shocks were sent throughout the stones, shattering each and every monster. "What? You.." The priest was obviously shocked, never before had he seen such power from such a small thing.

The priest took a step back, and retracted his item. "And you dare to come after the sacred items. You must be of the Atlantians!" He rasped. "I am, in a way. And one would not call them sacred, if one knew how they were made." She grinned and walked towards the priest. "Now then: you can not summon any monsters, and you can not call for help. What will you do about it?" Suddenly the image of a Tumaga-style dueldisk appeared on her left wrist. "That is." Taurt recognized it as the same tool that the Orichalcos demons used to invoke Ka. "I have sealed off your Ka, you might as well quit the game now." She was about to insert her deck, when. "How did you get here?" A vthird oice intruded the sanctum, Christine Rose appeared behind the woman. "Oho? You are here?" The girl had gone off to the temple anyway, since she knew she had to investigate the strange light. "I do not remember introducing myself to you." She smiled. "I know enough about you, Justine. And what you have done.." Christine replied.

"You!" Taurt yelled. "And her! Are you allies?" He threatened the girl with the scales as well. But the ladies ignored him. "How did I get here, you ask? You could say I 'cheated'." Justine turned on her. "This is not really me, just in integrated avatar under my control. With it I can jump into this world wherever I want. I came here to help Glyph with this game." She inserted cards into her dueldisk. "This world, a game? What are you talking about?" Naturally her words confused the tattood man, only Christine could understand it all. "Well I will not let you get away with cheating, I will send you back." She claimed, and resummoned her own dueldisk. "I see you learn fast enough to keep up. In that case, allow me to introduce myself to you..as a duelist." Taurt just stood there in the background, not sure what to do.

Christine's LP: 8000 Justine's LP: 8000

"First turn? How kind of you." She laughed and drew six cards. "But I.." Obviously she never got the chance to discuss the matter of initiative. "I set one card facedown, and one monster in facedown defense mode. I think thats good enough, dont you agree?" She winked and ended her turn. "..Ehr." Christine decided not to answer her, as she was not very clear on what kind of mindgame Justine was playing. "I summon Guy-Lin!" In return, she summoned her burly warrior, the drunken fighter Guy-Lin (2000/1000). "This card is powerful. But his attack depends on luck, a coin toss." She imagined herself a coin and tossed it. "If I call it right, I can attack, if not..he attacks me. I call Heads!" It landed on heads. "Yes! Guy-Lin strikes your facedown" The Drunken warrior slew a facedown Mystic Tomato(1400/1100). "A searcher?" Rose blinked. "Ah you know it already, saves me the trouble of explaining its effect." And she used it summon a dark monster with less than 1500 attackpoints, it was an angel. "Whats...who..is that?"

_Guy-Lin: drunken master, 4/2000/1000 Light/Warrior  
When this monster attacks, flip a coin and call it. If you guess it wrong, inflict direct damage to your own lifepoints equal to this cards attackpoints and end the battle phase. If this card is on the field during your standby phase, you can search your deck for [Guy-lins flask] and add it to your hand._

She stared at a mummified nurse, with scythe-like wings, metallic hair and iron shackles. "This is my trademark card: Reficule, the Fallen One(1400/600). I can tell that you are not familiar with this card, so I shall demonstrate its ability." She flipped her trap: Gift Card. "This a trap that normally gives the opponent 3000 lifepoints." She said as Rose received a virtual gift card. "Right? Wrong!" But then the card melted in her hands, and burned her for 3000 damage. "As long as Reficule is on the field, lifepoint increments become the opposite." Rose shook her hand to cool it down again. "Ow... So thats your style."

Christine's LP: 5000

Rose placed a trap and ended her turn. "My deck is filled with cards that make use of this inversion. Like this one: Upstart Goblin." Rose gasped, as she lost even more life. "I can draw 1 card if I give the opponent 1000 LP...oops." She grinned, and drew. "Reficule can of course fight for herself a little." Next Loveless played the spell: Shrink, to cut Guy-Lins power in half (1000/1000). "!!!" Tthe Fallen Angel flew into the air. "Finish him." And the Nurse came at the Drunkard, with her sharp wings. "I can not allow that, Snipers Backup!" However Rose responded with a trap of her own. And suddenly a shot was fired. "Hm?" The Nurse broke of her attack to dodge the bullet, and she glared into the distance. "I negated your attack with this trap. Which also summons Kyle Baxter." The sniper came to the field (1200/2000) to join his warrior comrade. "Interesting. That ends my battle phase then. So I activate Messenger of Peace." It was a continuous spell that stopped any attacks from monsters with more then 1500 attackpoints, like Guy-Lin.

Christine's LP: 4000

"I also set a trap and..." Finally her turn was over. "Traps and spells. They have them prepared inside those miniature slabs as well?" Taurt grunted. Normally spells and curses came from the spirits themselves. "Enjoying the show, priest? Dont worry, I will get to you soon." Justine smiled. "I wont go down that fast you know. You shut down one warrior, but not the other. Kyle can still attack, directly." She drew and summoned her union monster, Armor Breaker (800/800). "I equip this monster to Kyle, and he attacks directly!" Armor Breaking Baxter first fired a shot which went through Justine's arm. "And when he inflicts damage, he can wield the armor breaking hammer to destroy one card on the field." She chose Messenger of Peace, destroying the effect that kept Guy-Lin at bay. The hammer crushed the continuous spell. "Are you sure you want to attack me with Guy-Lin though? You already lost half your life." Justine remained confident. "Oh sure you rolled heads once, but twice? I dont expect that fortune." Once again she played with her doubts, and the girl hated to admit that it was working. If she were to strike, she could lose half her life. "Darn it, I cant take the risk" She moaned mentally, placing one trap down again.

Justine's LP: 6800

"Good girl." She too placed a trap. Then she activated a spell card: Enemy Controller. "But you wasted a great chance there." A console controller pad came in front of her, and she pressed the red button. "In business, you have to take risks. I know its not always fun, which is why I tend to cheat from time to time." Then the controller plugged itself into Guy-Lin, and forced him to assume a defensive position. This way, Reficul could slay the drunkard. "You however, look like a person that has seen to many risks already. You must be..scared." The Nurse cut down the warrior. "I am not!" She protested, and flipped her trap card: Rope of Soul. Paying 1000 LP to special summon Queens Knight (1500/1600). "A trap to summon a new card. Is this your way of saying that you dont fear losing lifepoints? "You know I could very well put you through the same hell that Jacob did?" She laughed, and Christine flinched. "No..dont say that name." She remembered her own nightmares, and the ones she put Venice through.

Christine's LP: 3000

"I will not lose!" She entered her turn. "I normal summon Kings Knight!" She called the second card knight (1600/1400), who then allowed her to special summon the third: Jacks Knight (1900/1100). "Polymerization!" Finally she fused all three knights into one with her fusion spell, calling out the Arcana Knight Joker (3800/2500). "Hmmm. I fear that, you have already lost." Suddenly a trap appeared. It was called Ring of Life. _"No! I do not have the right cards!" _Joker could negate traps that targeted it, but she had to discard a trap first, and she only had a spell in her hand. "This card is like Ring of Destruction, except it heals both players." The ring blew up, taking Arcana down with it. "Of course, in Reficule's case, it only heals one player." Her life went up by 3800, while Christine went down by 3800. "No." She had lost.

Christine's LP: 0 Justine's LP: 10600

_Ring of Life, Normal Trap  
Destroy 1 face-up monster and increase the lifepoints of both players equal to its original ATK._

(To be continued in Testament 078: Sidequesting)

**New Cards used by Christine Rose**_  
Guy-Lin the Drunken Warrior_

**Cards used by Justine Loveless**  
Mystic Tomato  
Nurse Reficule the Fallen One

-  
Upstart Goblin  
Shrink  
Mesenger of Peace  
Enemy Controller

-  
Gift Card_  
Ring of Life _(+)

(+) Based on a card used by Syrus from YGO GX


	78. Testament 078: Sidequesting

Testament 078: Sidequesting

In the real world, the hazmat patrol still searched every building one after another, they lacked the number to keep everything in view at once. Once or twice Cable and Anima would meet up with resistance. "Hn!" But Anima took care of them very quickly, by copying their inner powers. Knocking them unconscious before they could report back to Justine. "Let's go!" Cable said. "This house is not safe either." He ran off already, leaving Anima to stare at the soldiers. "_This power is." _His left eye twitched. _"It feels good. But why?" _He looked around, there were two feelings he experienced ever since he copied Glyphs ritual. _"Is something...watching me?"_ His shoulders felt heavy, every time he copied the power of Orichalcos, he felt he could hear a soft alluring presence._ "I have go to control this."_

Back at the Memory World

Christine's LP: 0 Justine's LP: 10600

Christine slumped to her knees. She had lost, and now she could not stop thinking about that one time, that one duel she lost to Jacob all that time ago. "Poor little duelist. You can not defeat the darkness in others, if you still suffer it yourself." However, suddenly a ring of energy was thrown around her. "I have you now, demoness." Taurt seemed to have prepared some form of binding spell while she was distracted. One of the many spells hidden in the walls stone slabs. "Oh, now you make a move?" She was distracted by the duel, so this she did not see coming. "You can not escape me, I have already called the nightwatch with the power of my Millenium Item They will be here shortly." He then noticed the silent girl. "Tsch, looks like I was wrong about these Canadians. They did not mean any harm to us at.." Alas in the one moment that he took his eyes off her, she activated a card between her fingers. "Wait, what are you.." Before he knew it, he was enveloped in a green light. "Didn't I tell you? I like to cheat." She had activated the Seal of Orichalcos. "No, this is." He tried to raise his Millenium Scales to ward off the evil energy, but it came to quick. "No, I..I failed the king." He struggled to no avail, the circle took his soul and the body dropped to the floor.

"And now to claim the award of this stage." She walked over to the millenium item. Just then, the guards and the duelists came into the library. "Justine? How did." They saw her, Rose and a motionless priest. "Lord Taurt!" The guards shouted. "Christine!? Get away from her!" Nero cursed. "Relax, Nero. I already have what I came for." Loveless picked up the scales. "Au Revoir" And vanished into thin air. "?" They felt the air where she once stood, she really was gone. "Her soul. Its not gone, but it is also not here..." Jackson could not explain it, he felt that Loveless travelled several miles in an instant. The guards cared less about that though. "No, the priest! What happened to him?" One of them held Taurts lifeless body. "Its the green curse, one of the six has been claimed by the Atlantians!" The effects of the seal were well documented. The soldiers started to panic just at the mention of the word 'Atlantian'. "We must tell Lady Neith!" Some already ran off to inform the queen. "I can not believe this happened."

"Christine, are you allright?" The duelists meanwhile concerned themselves with Rose, she was still not moving. "I am..she did not harm me. But I..could not help him." She gulped. "I know now... It is not the gods. They do not want those..they want the millenium items." She said. "The items? But they are not the real deal, are they..then why? I mean sure right now Tumága has like only three of them, but they cant take stuff from this place to the real world." Colin fidgeted around. "You know, I bet the priests will blame us for this." He sneered. "Then we should return too and explain."

"He has fallen?" Neith responded with mild surprise. The Pharaoh was also undisturbed, he did not even bat an eye. "Oh no." Only the four other priests seemed horrified by the news. "I shall inspect him." Osirid said calmly and walked away. "What did you do?" While Ankhaten was quick to blame the children, as Colin predicted, and pointed his staff at them. "My lord, if I may. I was not them, my lord. It was another." The guard bowed down and spoke. "It was a strange woman, who wielded the power of Orichalcos, she must have been an Atlantian." Mentu and Kiya nodded, seemingly accepting the story. "Tsch, then why was her outfit not similar to anything we have seen from Atlantians?" Ankhaten snorted. "To infiltrate perhaps?" Kiya said quickly, before Ankhaten silenced him with a quick glare. "We do not need to concern ourselves with that. Whats more important is that we retrieve the stolen item. Mentu, can you track the trail of the thief?" The queen asked the priest. "I fear not, my lady. The Tauk can foresee the future." Colin especially thought that was very nice. "Yet it can not predict the path of another item-holder. If we had the scales we could have detected her evil instead, but she took _that_ item.."

"May I suggest something?" Jackson looked up. "Dont speak before your turn, Canadian." Ankhaten growled, pointing his rod even fiercer. "Hear them out, Ankhaten." Neith said. "Well, we have some experience with these Atlantians. They hide in shadows until their army is complete, but they will always be near the city they strike. The scales can not be far away, they are somewhere in this kingdom." He paused, waiting to see what they would say. "What are you saying?" Kiya asked. "That we would search the city, the river, the desert, and the Priests should lead. Eventually they will come out of hiding and try to take their items. But this time we will be ready." He halfsmirked. "I see, you want to set a trap for them. Thats worth looking in to..." Neith then approached the Pharaoh, whispering into his ear. He spoke back to her, too soft to be heard by others. "Very well, he agrees. Tomorrow at dawn, we will begin the search." She claimed. "Dawn? Argh, that means only 2 hours of sleep." While William moaned.

"The scales huh? How quaint." Glyph came from the shadows to take the item that Justine had brought her. "You did not have to come in here, dare I ask how you managed to do so without my assistance?" He raised his voice, even though it made him cough. "No need to threaten me, I am still assigned to your mission. I brought this as a sign of good faith." She smiled. "You do realize that you could have done better by sending a legion of soldiers instead. That way we can take all seven items at once." He grunted and tossed the scales aside. "Patience, Glyph. I'd expect you of all people to understand that word. I merely thought it'd be in our best interest to remove the item that gave the priests the power of fusion. Since my cyborgs could not handle that." She seemed to reach him, as he sat down at last. "Very well, you succeeded, so I am pleased. But do not interact with the memory world without my consent again, I wont be so lenient all the time." He coughed some more. "As for the cyborgs, they already have a new mission."

Some could not find sleep at all. "This must be because of the memories..." They found it very difficult to get tired either. "I almost wanted to know what dreams are like in other dimensions." William sighed, as he left the room with the others. "Well you could have at least kept us out of your moaning." Cleo hissed. Next to Carter, she disliked the night the most. "Christine, are you going to be okay?" Nero meanwhile concerned himself with Rose, since she looked even worse then you'd expect from someone that lost a duel. Of course she would deny it. "I am fine." Was what she said every time. "Oh, okay." But Jacobus could not believe it, Justine had said something to her that touched a nerve. "Hmm, you're early. I presume Canadians do not sleep much." Mentu was already waiting for them at the edge of the palace. "Don't remind us." Colin rasped. "Well its good that you are here, allow me to introduce you to our searching parties." He lead them to the front gate. "Parties?" They blinked. "Yes, three parties."

They were greeted by horses, soldiers and a boat. "We are going to take our search threeways. Ankhaten is most familiar with the city, as he is the prison keeper. He will lead the part into the town." Ankhaten looked at them with a grim expression, but did not bother to speak to them. "Osirid will will lead a squadron across the desert hills just outside the city." He calmly gestured to the duelists. "And Kiya shall take several soldiers on the boat across the nile, to see if any of the smaller towns alongside the river are suspicious. Meanwhile I stay behind to guard the palace in case we get attacked directly." He said. "So, you can choose to follow one team, or split up with us." He said and looked at them for answers. "There is six of us, so I guess we can split up into two per group." Cleo said. "But I am not going with captain surly, he looks like he wants to stab us." She said, Colin seconded the notion. "The nile however seems nice, so.." She got on the boat, with Colin. "Then its settled. Good luck Kiya." Mentu said, and she nodded.

"You too." She then commanded the gondolier to start rowing. "Til later." William shouted. Two parties were left. "I will go with Christine." Jackson said. "What, but I.." Nero protested, he too wanted to be with her. "Nero, now is not the time." Doe approached him and lowered his voice. "I realize you're worried about her, and you feel guilty. But guilt will not help you in this world, trust me to take care of her." Doe said. He knew he was right. "Okay." Rose meanwhile walked up to Osirid. "I think the desert will be fine." She sounded happy as usual, but still Jacobus did not like to see her go. "Good. We leave." Osirid raised his ring, and the soldiers shouted. They all followed him. "Hold on tight." Jackon mounted a horse as well, and Rose stepped up behind her. "Wait, you're good with horses?" Carter asked.

But before he got a verbal answer, the two blasted off. "I guess he is." Leaving just them with Ankhaten. "Oh boy. Do we have to ride them too?" He asked the priest. He merely sneered. "You Canadians arent used to horses, the primary method of transport on the globe? How did you get here in the first place, then." He raised an eyebrow. "Ehr we are accustomed to boats. We came from the Nile remember." Ankhaten scoffed, clearly not satisfied with their excuse. "Well, try to keep up if you cant ride one. We wont go as fast as Osirid anyway. We will go from home to home. Once the Pharaoh speaks to his people about you Canadians. We would not want harm to befall you, would we?" He laughed. Nero and Carter began to doubt their safety. _"Yeah I really wanted a different priest."_

After they had left the city grounds, Osirid eased his horse, and the others slowed down as well. "You okay?" Doe asked the girl behind him. "Yeah.. I just wish people would stop asking that." She said, whispering the last part to herself. ".." Jackson looked away, and stared into the distance. "I wonder how far this world stretches.." He could see the horizon, but was there even anything beyond? The memories could not encompass the whole world could they? "What was that?" One soldier asked him. "Oh ehr nothing." He coughed and looked at the road instead. They climbed up several feet against a path carved out in a rocky slope. The pyramid settled against the background, illuminated by the rising sun. "There are caves in these parts, the enemy could be hiding in one of them." Osirid said, scanning the area with his ring. "My Ring can detect other Millenium Items, as long as they are in close range." Right now it pointed back to the city, so it was probably pointing at Mentu or Neiths item.

"Stay on your guard, and.." And just then an explosion rocked the hill. "No!" A blast of energy cut down a part of the road, a blast of flames. "Aaaarghh!" Sending several soldiers tumbling down the rocks. "They're here!" Another blast came, which cut off the both ends of the road. "Get off your horses, calm them!" Osirid cursed, as he narrowly avoided his own doom. "Is is them?" Christine gasped. "No, it is..just one." Jackson looked up at their assailant. "My Lord, Look!" One of the surviving soldiers exclaimed. There in the sky hovered the crimson assassin: Illya. "Gyeh, an item is it? It must be heavy on your neck, allow me to take it." And she fired several more fireballs at them, aiming to slaughter them all. "Hn!" But that was when Jackson made his move. "What?" Osirid watched in amazement, as the 'Canadian' sprouted wings on his back, and flew into the air. "Impossible!" Christine was equally surprised. _"He must have used the wings of Lucifer, his Persona."_ but at least she could understand how he did that

The six wings of the fallen angel gave Doe the ability to fly and fend off the innoming fireballs, deflecting them with his dueldisk. "You again!" She hissed. "Leave these people alone. You do not need to kill them to get what you want." He flew right in front of her. "But they wont give it to me, will they? So killing them is the logical answer to getting the Ring!" She was still enraged, yet her flaming aura disappeared. "If you want to fight for it, you will have to go through me." Lucifer Doe activated the dueldisk. "I know that we can duel here too." His words seemed to reach her, as she paused to think it over. "Tsch, fine."

(To be continued in Testament 079: Trap by Trap)


	79. Testament 079: Trap by Trap

Testament 079: Trap by Trap

Things looked slightly better for Cable and Anima. They had managed to elude the hazmat patrol for quite some time, and managed to smuggle the bodies of their friends to a basement. "Its strange, there are less and less troops in the city. You dont think.." Anima nodded to Cable's question. "More and more are sent into that other world, I can feel their influence on me dwindling." He clenched his fist, he hated to admit that he liked it more when he had more strength. "We need to start thinking off a way to pull them back out." Fraser added. "If there is a way at all." He sighed. The others had been sleeping for hours now, but only several hours. They were not aware that time went slower in their dimension. "This Egyptian Exhibit may hold more clues, lets inspect the items around the stone tablet." They agreed to go with that plan. There were currently no soldiers inside the building. But unknown to Cable, Anima had a deeper motive for going back. "_The source of this voice.. this feeling, I must find it before it 'finds' me."_

Back at the Memory World. The squadron of soldiers and duelists moved along the river quite smoothly, until the leaders item began to tremble. "Hey whats wrong?" Colin asked Kiya and pointed at the ankh. "Its a warning from the others." She gasped. "That direction is... the mount path. It looks like Osirid has found one of the Atlantian demons." So the trap was effective after all. "Maybe we should.." But at that moment, a soldier sounded his own alarm. "What now?" Cleo looked out the boat and saw a swarm of Orichalcos soldiers marching towards the river. "Oh good, company." Colin groaned. "They have come for us, make ready!" Kiya yelled, and the Egyptians armed themselves with swords and spears. "Destroy the intruders!" They screamed. The soldiers jumped on to the main land and charged.

Osiris had indeed engaged the enemy, though right now all he did was stare at her and Jackson facing off. "Are they going to fight?" One of his men asked, the priest expected as much. "_I had better prepare my own mana, in case he fails_." Illya then summoned her dueldisk, except she grew it from her arm. "You will draw six cards, I want to be the one who attacks first!" She rasped. "I see you suffer from pent up rage. In that case, I know just the thing for you." He drew six cards. "First I play the Field Spell: Tartarus Tower." He summoned the spire, which extended all the way into the ground. Its unholy green appearance shocked the soldiers below. "Next I play the spell: Extension of One's Mind, I search my deck for one Persona and add it to my hand." He took a card that was called : Byakko. "This I then summon, Byakko of the Temperance." It was a tiger monster (1700/1500). Doe took on a calmer voice, and his white hair gained black streaks. "My trap effect will calm you down a bit hopefully." Tartarus Tower allowed him to chose his effect.

_Byakko, Symbol of the Temperance, 4/1500/1300 Light/Spellcaster/Persona  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: Both players can only attack with one monster during their battle phase.  
Spell: Both players can only activate one spell card per turn.  
Trap: Both players can only activate one trap card per turn._

"Now you will only be able to activate one trap each turn." He said, hoping that she could not escape this effect soon. "Ggh, you.." She was none too pleased. "Then I will crush you slowly, my power shall not be denied." She drew, and summoned Makyura, the Executioner Monster (1600/1200). "Die!" And then she attacked with it, surprising him initially. "What is she doing?" Naturally Makyura stood no chance against Byakko, he had 100 attackpoints more so he clawed the Destructor in half. "The tiger won, hurray!" The soldiers cheered, allthough they were not sure what was going on. "She did it on purpose!" Rose yelled. "Yes!" She of course killed her own warrior to use its dying effect. When Makyura died, she could activate traps from her hand. "But she can still only activate one per turn." Byakko told himself, the other himselves. "Hsss, that wont hurt me." She summoned Dead Dragon, Zoma Spirit in defense mode (1800/500). "Try to attack me now!" She cackled, placing three more traps facedown. "Try it, try it!"

Illya's LP: 7900

"So I shall. But first." He had drawn a spell which he wanted to activate. "I will sacrifice Tartarus Tower for a Tartarus Activation card: The Confinement." The tower crumbled, and Byakko depowered (1500/1300). However parts of the walls struck the assassins deck. "I can declare a card type, and you will have to discard five cards of that type from your deck." The disk counter her deck, she only had four monsters in it, and only four spells. "Since I can not target your monsters (Including her Uria), I will declare trap cards." Illya grumbled and threw five traps into the grave. "Next I normal summon Mother Harlot, of the Empress." The Queen appeared still resting in her Throne of Skulls (1600/1400). "The last used card was a trap, so, she can destroy one face-down trap or spell." Harlot Doe targeted her middle trap: Metal Reflect Slime, and shattered it. "And now darling." She/he smiled, as Jackson played the spell: Research from One's Mind. Sacrificing The Empress Symbol to draw cards until he found a Persona. "Tsk."

_Tartarus Activation-The Confinement, Normal Spell  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona' monster card.  
Destroy a 'Tartarus Tower' on your side of the field, and then choose a card type(Monster, Spell or Trap).  
Your opponent must choose five cards from his deck or hand of the chosen type, and send them to the graveyard._

"Found one...I get Surtr, The Magician. I special summon it and discard the other cards." Due to the spell, Surtr(2400/1500) could choose any one of his three abilities. He picked the spell-effect. "Now can choose to burn one card in your hand." The last card in her hand: Solemn Judgment, was thrown into the grave as well. "Finally, a double attack!" Surtr slew the Undead Trap Monster with his fiery sword. "Well take this!" Yet Zoma's effect was triggered. Surtr Doe would suffer ectoplasm damage: equal to the attackpoints of he who killed Zoma. He lost 2400 LP. "Calm down, we are not done yet." Byakko said as he attacked directly. He bit the female cyborg in the leg. "Gah!" She screamed out loud and kicked the tiger off of her. "Damn you." She kicked the tiger off of her. Byakko returned to Lucifer Doe, who placed a card facedown. "You shall pay." Jackon did not say anything, something felt strange to the Personae. Christine felt uneasy about this duel too. _"Why did I cringe, when I heard her scream?" _

Illya's LP: 6400 Jacksons LP: 5600

She activated two trap cards, one before his turn ended, and one after, to avoid Byakko's limits. "Destructive Draw and Solemn Wishes!" They were two continuous traps. "The first effect: Every drawphase, if the player has no cards in his/her hand, she can draw two cards!" She demonstrated its effect and drew twice. "Second effect, whenever I draw, I gain life!" The Solemn trap gave gave her 500 LP. "Thats twice the lethal power!" She then placed a card facedown and ended her turn. "Though I have to pay 700 LP every turn to keep Destructive Draw on the field. But Solemn wishes will heal me anyway!"

Illya's LP: 6200

Her turn was over. "We just remembered, you were once human." He suddenly said. "Wh-what?" Causing Illya to flinch. "Like Edgar.. but we dont know your human name." This the wielder of Uria did not enjoy. "No! Shut up! I ..I am Illya, nothing less, nothing less!" The symbolist drew another card. "Are you?" He activated Velvet Room, which allowed him to normal summon a Persona, after he sent tributes from his deck to the grave instead. "This place is not physical, look at me, this is not my body." He pointed at his angelic appearance. It made a sharp contracting image with the Symbol that he summoned, Satan of the Judgment (2900/2400). "If you dont want to answer, thats fine. But we already know." Byakko, Surtr and Satan spoke in unison. "I shall judge you. You last activated a trap, this triggers my Trap power: activate a trap against me and you will never use traps again." The devil sneered, explaining his special power. "No!" She still refused. "Then you will face it." The tiger, devil and magician attacked her directly.

_Satan, Symbol of the Judgment, 8/2900/2400 Dark/Fiend  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: When the last effect resolves, negate the effects of all face-up 'Persona' cards on your side of the field.  
Spell: When the last effect resolves, your opponent cannot activate a spell card as long as this card remains on the field.  
Trap: When the last effect resolves, your opponent cannot activate a trap card as long as this card remains on the field._

She would not survive another assault. "We can guess your true identity. So take this attack. Take it, V.." Yet when he was about to reveal her name, she reacted "NO!" Illya flipped her last trap card: Delta Barrier. "You will not say that name!" She called out a mechanical drone. Upon activation this continuoys trap called two more drones from the grave, two more Delta Barriers. "_Damn, she must have sent those to the grave when we used Confinement." _The three drones combined into one, forming a delta pattern that blocked their attacks. "_I hoped to seal off her traps, but she managed to activate three in one turn.""_

_Delta Barrier, Continuous Trap  
If one or more 'Delta Barrier' cards are in your graveyard, when this card is activated, you can place them face-up on your side of the field. If there are three face-up [Delta Barrier] cards on your side of the field, once per game you can negate all battle damage done to your lifepoints._

Satan called of his attack, he could not bypass this shield. "She has three traps now." Byakko said as he and Surtr were switched to defense mode, Satan had to remain in attack mode. "Yes, this is it." Illya entered her turn, drawing a card, gaining LP. "At last." Everyone held their breath. "The sacred power, my power!" She laughed maniacally as she removed all three Delta Traps, to summon her Sacred Beast: Uria. "Trap card!" Doe tried to block its descent with Mind Infection. "Trap Scream!" But Uria opened its second mouth and shattered the trap with a sonic shriek. "You can't do that!" Illya's voice echoed across the mountains. "Argh, to late." Uria could destroy traps as soon as it hit the field, and nothing could chain to the scream. "Its time to die!" Illya had completely disappeared at this point, she merged with the demon god. "Yes, you, die!" Uria gained 1000 attackpoints for each continuous trap in her grave (8000/0). The beast released a large stream of flames, which incinerated The Judgment instantly.

Illya's LP: 6700 Jacksons LP: 500

The blow nearly killed the duelist. "Heh, now I can use traps again, can't I?!" Illya shouted. Since Satans death broke off the ban on trap cards. "This one!" She played the continuous trap Anti-Spell Fragrance. "No!" From now on he could not activate spells in the first turn. "Yes!" And with her demons trap scream, she could kill any set card, once per turn. "_Its hard to believe that she is..her_" Surtr lamented. "End turn!" Meanwhile her draw trap was still active so she payed 700 LP. "Wait, your trap." Destructive Draw affected both players. "My hand is empty and I draw two cards." Illya growled, but allowed it. "Ggh I set two spell cards. And I end my turn." He did not draw a monster, and his spells could not be used right away. "Your move." He sighed, and she seemed eager to continue the game. Meanwhile down below, several soldiers were conversing with Osirid. _"What is the priest doing?" _Rose noticed this, the priest was definitely up to something. But she could not focus on him and the duel at the same time.

Illya's LP: 6000

First she drew two cards and gained 500 LP. "Shatter!" Uria released another scream from its second mouth, breaking one of Doe's spells: The Tarot. "No spells for you!" She cackled and entered the battle phase as well. Uria resorted to physical violence this time, smashing Byakko under the weight of its tail. "Now I can activate as many traps per turn as I want!" She said. Of course, she already had three permanent traps to fill her MT Zone, leaving her with two open spots. One of those was filled with another trap, the second was left open for new cards. "Geheh, You cant hide behind Symbols forever." Then she payed 700 LP for her trap and ended her turn. "..Hiding? Am I the one? It looks to me like you are the one thats hiding, hiding under the skin of that bloodred demon." Considering that he was talking to an assassin inside a sacred beast, he felt his response was more then fair. "Tsch, this is my true power now. You wouldnt understand." The demon snorted back. "Maybe, maybe not. But I do know what you are!"

Illya's LP: 5800

"Your name is Venice Gray, and nothing can change that!" He shouted it loud enough for everyone to hear. "What!" Christine was numbed by the revelation. "It can not...be."

The identities of Xifos and Illya were revealed, yet the third remained an unknown. And this one stalked the city itself. "..." Eidos floated from house to house, making sure he could not be seen by the guards that inspected the city. "...." Ankhaten, Nero and William were going house by house. "Tsch. They arent going to attack us in the middle of the city it seems." The priest sounded bored, his patience was tested also by the slowness of their search. But just then his rod received a warning signal Both Osirid and Kiya were under attack. "We're moving." He said to his men. "What, but we're not done here?" Carter protested. "They found the enemy, we engage them. Thats a simple command, follow it Canadians." He decided to head in the direction of The Nile. Not that it was close, but he had more faith in Osirids capabilities then Kiya's. "I guess." Meanwhile Nero was more worried about Christine then Colin and Cleo, but they had no choice. So the squad moved out of the city, leaving behind the confused citizens.

Of course Eidos watched this all happen, and he was pleased to see that there was less security now. "_Now I can follow up on the signal this dueldisk gives me..." _He floated towards the palace. And once he got there, the signal in his disk went to its highest level. He was close, close to whatever it was that Glyph needed. He did not understand one bit of his plan, the information given was barely sufficient. _"This whole hunt sounds like a fluke, just what is the 'true soul' that he is after?."_ He came closer and closer, moving passed the guards when they were not looking. It was easier know, since so many had left to search outside the city. And then the signal became one continuous beep. _"I am here?" _He could see through a window inside the main building. "_Thats what he wants?"_

(To be continued in Testament 080: I am Strong)

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**_  
Symbol of Temperance - Byakko  
Symbol of Judgment - Satan_

_-  
Tartarus Activation - Confinement_

**New Cards used by Illya**  
Makyura the Destructor

-  
Destructive Draw  
Solemn Wishes_  
Delta Barrier_ (+)  
Anti-Magic Fragrance

(+) Based on the card Dark Johan used in YGO GX Season 3


	80. Testament 080: I am Strong

Testament 080: I Am Strong

A wave of shock went through both the demoness and Christine. The true identity of Illya had been revealed, it was Venice Gray, their former friend. _"I knew it, I knew that scream_." Rose understood now, how she heard that scream before. It was when she was forced to give her a Penalty Game with Jacobs powers, when she was possessed and caused Gray pain against her will. "No!" But the demoness resisted this revelation. "I am not her, never! She was weak, I am not, I am Illya!" She roared. "Suit yourself." Doe sighed. If he could not get through to her, find her real self with words. "...then I will have to rip off that armor. Bring your Own Mind!" He played the spell that Anti-Magic Fragrance forced face-down. Last turn Uria destroyed one of his facedown cards, but he had placed two, and this one survived. "I can discard from my hand a Persona. I choose Mother Harlot. Then I draw cards, one for every Harlot in the grave, and one for free." He drew three new cards. He ended up with four cards in his hand.

_Bring Your Own Mind, Normal Spell  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona' monster card. Send one 'Persona' monster card from your hand to your graveyard, and draw a number of cards equal to the number of this card found in your graveyard + 1._

He normal summoned his next avatar. "Of The Priestess, I am Scatach(1500/1500). And by discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy any monster. Since a monsters effect was used last." She pointed her finger at Uria, as Doe discarded a spell card from his hand. "I choose you." She fired black magic at the demon. "Ggh, you dare!" But the demon had prepared for such an event, and she activated a countertrap: Destruction Jammer. "I can discard a card from my hand to negate the effect that you discarded a card for hahah!" The Jammer negated Scatachs effect and killed her in the process. "Tsch, you should not run, Venice." She scoffed before she left the field. Jackson meanwhile placed another two cards down. "I am not Venice, that is the reality!" She hissed again, drawing two cards and gaining 500 LP "But this is not real is it?" Byaakko Doe said. "This is a place where souls meet, a place of memories. We remember you as a kind and gentle person." He looked at Christine, who nodded. "Gggh."

Illya's LP: 6300

"Die!" Uria released another trap scream, shattering his facedown card: Protection from One's Mind. "Venice, this just is not you. I know I hurt you, but why did this happen? Why did.." However she was cut off, something happened. Uria's head began to twitch, a scar opened between its horns. "You.." From the scar came a person, one that looked like Venice's human self. But parts of her were Illya as well, as if the armor had not completely faded. "Venice is dead." It intoned. "Whoever she was, she is not here." The entity used Ms. Gray's normal voice too, but it sounded morbid. "No thats not true!" Christine gasped. "It is. Like Edgar, she died because of a weakness. Xifos replaced that weakness, as did I. Your friend is, no more!" She extended her hand, and Uria released a fire beam on her command. The last of Jacksons symbols was killed, the Byakko went down in flames. "You cant be... she was still.." And they did not believe it, Venice was still alive when they last saw her, they were sure of that

Illya's LP: 5600

In the end Illya payed another 700 LP and placed another trap down. "I see, you had no choice." Jackson said, causing her to flinch. "Tum'aga brainwashed you with that facade, turning you into a cyborg against your wish." He drew two more cards due to Destructive Draw. "Lies." She hissed. "You would not know, but we the Personae can not be fooled. Venice is still in there, I know now that you are not her. So.." He activated a trap, the one of two she had not destroyed. "I do not have to hold back: Creation!" He played the trap: Creation from One's Mind, to revive a fallen Persona. He brought back Scathach, explaining why he never lost that cold tone of voice she always had. "I wont give up, I will tear down that wall you call 'Illya'." He was about to discard another card, alas again the cyborg had a counter prepared. "Charm of the Fallen Martyr!" She discarded the charm from her hand, to prevent all damage to her greatest card. "Never, never, never!" She screamed. She had tons of methods to protect her power, she did not want to lose it.

_Creation from One's Mind, Continuous Trap  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona' monster card. Special summon one 'Persona' monster card from your graveyard, and equip it with this card. If the monster equipped with this card is destroyed, this card is destroyed. If this card is removed from the field, the equipped monster is removed from the game, and both players can draw one card from their decks._

"...Fine." In turn, he sacrificed Scatach for another Symbol, a skeleton priest. "Daisoujou (1900/2400), the Hierophant. The last effect activated was your monster card, the Charm." The Hierophant assumed its monster-mode. "His effect allows me to add a trap from my grave to my hand." He searched the cemetery and reclaimed Mind Infection. "That card again?" She rasped. "I will destroy it!" But Daisoujou shook his skull-head. "That wont work, because.." He ended his turn, and her turn began. "I wont give you the chance, Trap Scream can not be activated before your main phase!" Before she could draw, let alone enter her main phase, he flipped the trap. "I send five Personae from my grave to the deck, to destroy your monster!" And this time, she was out of options, she could not protect her demon anymore. "I wont let you!" So she activated Compulsory Evacuation Device instead. It was a trap that sent one monster back to the controller hands "What?" She used it on her own card, sending it back to her hand.

_Daisoujou, Symbol of the Hierophant, 5/1900/2400 Dark/Fiend  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a 'Persona' monster.  
Monster: Once per turn, you can select one trap card from your graveyard, and add it to your hand.  
Spell: Once per turn, you can select one spell card from your graveyard, and add it to your hand.  
Trap: Once per turn, your opponent can select one spell or trap card from his/her graveyard, and add it to his/her hand._

"She dodged!" The soldiers gasped, as the Infection missed its target. Meanwhile Solemn Wishes gave her another 500 LP. "You, will, suffer!" And she wasted no time to resummon Uria. In her main phase 2, she sacrificed Destructive Draw, Solemn Wishes and Anti-Magic Fragrance for the demon god. The 11 continuous traps in her cemetery made it even stronger. (11000/11000). However it cost her 3000 LP to remove the Destructive trap, yet she was willing to risk it. "You are dead, Jackson, dead, dead, dead, dead!" Because anger consumed her entirely, she felt nothing but murderous rage. "This is bad, our life is low. "Daisoujou stood no chance against Uria. "Dont do this Venice!" He yelled. "To late, for her, and for you!" The demoness attacked, launching flames to kill her target. "Now!" And it was at this point that the Priest Osirid had gathered the energy for his own attack, while the duel distracted the enemy. Osirid launched several hexagram curses to bind the serpent down. "No, you dont understand!" Christine cried.

"Be gone, demon!" Then with his remaining mana, he summoned a row of demons: Gorz, Diabolos and Anubis. "Take her down!" He commanded his three fiends, and they fired dark energy at the trapped beast. "GGh!" Lucifer Jackson flew backwards to avoid the blast, but he already knew that this was a terrible mistake. "Why did you do that!" Rose was forced to see the creature go down in smoke. "She was the enemy, what else should we do with her?" The guards snorted "Your friend was about to die. I may not know everything, but I know you would not want that to happen." Osirid said with a somewhat calmer tone. "But, she is...wait.. look out!" It came from the smoke, and it came fast. "Urk." Uria's tail emerged, and pierced the Priest right through the chest. "My Lord!" The tail quickly pulled back.

It took the Millenium Ring with it, and left behind a large spurt of blood. "I...." Osirid fell to the ground. "Illya!" Jackson cursed. When he saw Uria arise from the smoke again, he saw that vicious smile on her face again. It was an expresion that Venice could never have made. "You truly aren't her anymore." And she could never have looked more unhinged. "Enough games!" She started to glow with energy. "!! Get out of there!" Doe shouted towards the soldiers. "What? We dont take orders from you!" They protested, raising their weapons. "That wont work!" Still they did not listen, and the demon was about to unleash her energy. "D-damn you!" He flew down towards the path, extending both hands to grab Christine. "Goodbye!" And a second later, Uria fired off an enormous blast of hellfire, "Gyaaaahhh!!!" She burned every soldier to the ground, ther bodies turned to ashes. "Ghh." Her left eye twitched, and she reverted to her armored assassin form. Holding on to the Ring in her left claw, she flew off into the distance.

Luckily she never bothered to check whether or not she had gotten to everyone. "Why.." Jackson had carried Rose out of the explosion range, and hidden them both behind the hills. "Why did you only save me?" She looked down, she couldn't see a single trace of those soldiers anymore. "I had to save you, because you were the one that actually lived." Lucifer Doe landed on the ground again, between ashes and dust. "What do you mean?" She pushed away. "I sensed it the moment we came here, but I could never tell them." He looked at the corpse of Osirid, the only body that survived the onslaught. "Behold." And to her dismay, his body turned to dust as well. Rather, it turned into sand. "Whats happening to him!" She ran up to him, but it was to late, he was all sand now. "These soldiers, everyone here, they are not real. A mere memory.

"There is only one soul."

Cable and Anima sneaked back to the egyptian exhibit. By now every mindwiped body had been cleared from the museum, creating an eerie atmosphere. "I will check the second floor, you the first." Anima whispered, and he went up the stairs. Cable stared at the giant rock once more. "_I wish I knew how to read this. Even a book or manual could help. Maybe some flyers?" _He looked around, but found none. The second floor also held interesting things from the ancient age. ".." Crowns, jewelry, all kinds of trinkets taken from the Pharahs tomb. But most interesting were the coffins in the middle of the room, there were two of them. One small and one normal-sized sarcophagus, but only one carried the withered mummified corpse. "_This must have been a Pharaoh.." _His hand stroked the glass casing, it felt strange to him. It was as if this corpse gave off energy as well, for he felt an invisible force fuel his soul. "_Could it be that this is..."_ But just then, all went dark around him. "What?" He was caught..

Caught in a vision, thats what he was. He saw many things, too many for one man to handle all at once. He saw soldiers, horses, citizens, aspects of an ancient civilization. It was Egypt, no doubt about it, but he could not make sense of what he saw. He saw flames, sand and rock, he witnessed the forging of gold, and the releasing of blood. The sky turned dark, and the sun itself died. Three nightmarish images spanned across the landscape, overshadowing the city. These three images were shaped just like the three beasts on the tablet, and they all stared at Anima. "What are you?"

That was the question, but nobody knew who asked it. "Unhnn." And just then, the three shadows merged into one, a large humanoid shope. Yet somehow demonic and unworldy. This tall dark figure had only one distinguishable feature amidsts the sea of blackness. It was a glowing golden eye. This eye looked into Anima, and he looked back. The more he stared, the brighter it became, until he saw nothing but its light. "I..." A voice came to him, the sound of laughter. He was back at the end of the dark tunnel, and once again it was devoid of life. "am..." He saw himself, surrounded by the bodies of his old friends, and his new ones. "You are not." The darkness taunted him, stretching out a long finger at the shadow behind Anima. "You are not alive." The shadow arose. "You are nothing." It towered over him, clouding the skies the sun, everything. Everything except that golden eye. "You know the truth" And it consumed his master. "Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!" With a loud shout, he woke himself.

Anima gasped for air, and noticed that Fraser was standing over him. "Anima, what happened? I found nothing myself, and you were.." He asked, extending a hand to help him up. "...You." He got up himself, ignoring the hand. "Well if you're tired. I can understand that." He was ignored even further, as Anima walked away from him. "Ehr." He went down the stairs. "Something wrong?" Cable followed. They ended up in the tablet room once more. "The gods." He looked up at the three symbols, Gryphon, Dragon and Soldier. "Its a lie." He spat, aimed his hand at the rock, and clenched hist fist. "Hey, whoa, what are you doing!" Fraser stepped in between the two. "This stone must be destroyed." Anima replied. "What? Are you sure? We dont know what will happen if we do that, right?!" He talked as if he assumed Anima was still planning to pull the kids out. "No, I do. If the tablet breaks, the memories will scatter, and so will all the souls." He stated. "And thats what must happen." Cable's face turned grim. "What?"

The way he worded it, he understood that they would die if the rock was broken, all of them. "But thats not an option!" He said loudly. "I know we came here to stop Glyph, but to kill everyone inside is.." Anima however took a step back. "Its not that." His arm was still tense. "I suddenly realized, that the gods will come out, the nameless. No matter which side wins, the gods will return. Such a power can not be allowed." He activated his dueldisk. "If you stand in my way, I will have to force you to leave." Fraser could not believe what he was hearing. "What happened to you, what did you see?" There was no answer, but silence. "I can not let you do this, even if it saves the world. Jackson is my best friend, and the others are also.." He spoke with honesty, his speech was however stopped. "Then beat me. If you want to save them, you have to beat me. I will allow this to be settled in a duel." Fraser felt that he had no choice. "Why, Anima, why?" His arm trembled. "My eyes were opened Cable. I shared the view of the true soul."

(To be continued in Testament 081: Deus Ex Anima)

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**_  
Symbol of the Hierophant - Daisoujou  
_

_-  
Bring your Own Mind  
_

_-  
Creation of One's Mind_

**New Cards used by Illya**  
Destruction Jammer  
Compulsory Evacuation Device


	81. Testament 081: Deus Ex Anima

Testament 081: Deus Ex Anima

Cable's LP: 8000 Anima's LP: 8000

"There is no choice..." The duel between Anima and Cable began, the former started off. "I am affraid that you are about to understand me better than anyone else." He placed a monster facedown and ended his turn. "You will not hold back.. I get that now." Frasers turn came, he summoned another hero of his Terran series: General Edmund Duke(1800/1900). "I had always wanted to test my deck against yours, as they are both my creations. But I did not want it like this.." He also activated a field spell card: Terran Command Center. He summoned a base ".." The center gave Duke new powers (2000/2100). "I attack your facedown!" Duke took a gun and fired at the set monster. It turned out to be a slithering Creeper Nobody (1000/700). Its death activated its effect and a new shadow came from the field. "I see, when I destroy that monster, you can summon another Nobody." Fraser placed a trap card as well.

_Terran Hero-Duke, 4/1800/1900 Earth/Warrior/Terran_

_Terran Command Center, Field Spell Card  
As long as this card is face-up, all 'Terran' monsters gain 200 attack and defense points. This card is not affected by spell or trap effects as long as you control a 'Terran' Monster_

"I special summon an Organization XIII Member from my deck: Zexion." He summoned the schemer of the group (1000/1000) "Oh, when he is on the field in the standby phase." That card was familiar to Fraser as was Creeper Nobody, he made both after all. "He will summon another Nobody from the hand or deck." Zexion then called out another member from his hand, a blonde gitarist. "Special summon the member Demyx (1500/1200). This one can create a waterclone, just like in the game!" Cable gasped, as the Nocturne Member cloned himself with water, making a new token (1000/1000). "So since neither of those monsters can kill Duke, you intend to tribute all of these newly summoned monsters, I assume." Anima nodded calmly, and sacrificed the two members, and the clone of Demyx for... "Nobody Dragon" A faceless dragonic being took their place (3200/2700). "This card needs three tributes. But its here now, and it attacks you." It raised its long spear. "Be gone." And decimated the Terran General with one toss of its weapon.

Cable's LP: 6800

_Organisation XIII-Zexion the Cloaked Schemer, 3/1000/1000 Dark/Light Spellcaster/Nobody  
As long as this card is face-up, during each of your standby phases, you can use one of the following effects:  
- Special summon one LV.4 or lower 'Nobody' monster card from your hand to your side of the field in face-up attack mode.  
__- Special summon one LV.4 or lower 'Nobody' imonster card from your deck to your side of the field in face-up attack mode.  
This does not work on a monster whose name contains 'Organisation XIII'_

_Organisation XIII-Demyx the Melodious Nocturne, 4/1500/1200 Dark/Light/Water Spellcaster/Nobody  
As long as this card is face-up, during each of your standby phases, special summon one 'Water Clone Token' (3/1000/1000 Water/Fiend) to your side of the field.  
This monster cannot be chosen as an attack target if there is a 'Water Clone Token' on your side of the field.  
When a 'Water Clone Token' is removed from the field while this card is face-up on the field, inflict 700 damage to your opponent's life points._

_Nobody Dragon, 8/3200/2700 Light/Dragon/Nobody  
You must tribute three monsters in order to tribute summon this monster. This card can not be destroyed by a card effect._

"You use my deck well, I can say that. But.." At that time he flipped his trap: Siege Situation. It allowed him to special summon Terrans from his deck, if their level was lower than the killed Terran "I use mine the same way." Duke was only level 4, he could only summon one lv4 or lower card. "Meet the Terran equivalent of Zexion."A carrier flew into the room. "The Terran Dropship(200/1200). Once every standby phase, it drop of a unit." The Ship then summoned another of its kind (200/1200). This one special summoned a third Dropship (200/1200). "I see. There is some degree of repetition between your series." And the third called out a Terran Medic (1000/1400), which healed his lifepoints by 400. "I then sacrifice the Medic and one of the dropships, to tribute summon the Terrans greatest flying unit: The Battle Cruiser (3200/1700)" The duelist knew that the Nobody Dragon was immune to effects, he needed raw force to bring it down. "And Finally, an addition to the Command Center: Terran Armory." He played a continuous spell, which added firepower to the Cruiser (4200/1700). "This card adds 1000 attackpoints to all machine units!" The Cruiser released a barrage of missiles that shattered the dragons spear and blew up the Nobody.

Anima's LP: 7000 Cable's LP: 7200

_Terran Dropship, 4/0/1000 Wind/Machine/Terran__This monster cannot attack.  
As long as this card is face-up during your standby phase, you can special summon one 'Terran' monster whose level is 4 or lower from your deck.  
This monster cannot be chosen as an attack target if you control another Terran monster on your side of the field._

_Terran Armory, Continuous Spell  
You can only activate this card if there is a face-up 'Terran Command Center'. As long as this card is face-up, all 'Terran' machine-type monsters gain 1000 attack-points._

"You are determined." Anima sighed, as he entered his turn. "Of course, you want to kill everyone." He rasped. "You said yourself that you dont know what happens, I am certain that my actions will lead to a better future." He drew a card. "But I already know neither you nor I can convince each other. We are too different." He activated a spell. "Altar of Naught!" Cable gasped, that spell could sacrifice his cards for one of Anima's. "_But he has to skip his battle phase..." _The spell destroyed the Cruiser, and in its place came the Berserker Organization XIII Member, Saix (2000/2300). "I am determined as well, Cable Fraser. I normal summon the Dancer Nobody." He called out the restless Nobody(1500/1500). His turn was over after that. "Damn Saix's power is gain counters every turn and get stronger." And Saiz was already stronger than most of his cards. "Meanwhile, the Dancer will kill anyone that attacks her, and she will survive." With the cards that were in his hand, he could do nothing against that.

_The Altar of Naught, Normal Spell  
Destroy one monster on your opponent's side of the field, and special summon a 'Nobody' monster card from your hand to the field. You can not enter the battle phase this turn._

_Organisation XIII-Saïx the Luna Divider, 6/2000/2300 Dark/Light Warrior/Nobody  
At each standby phase, put a counter (Max 3) on this card. This monster gains 500 attack points for each counter added to this card.  
If this card has 3 counters on it, remove them all from the field, and destroy all spell and trap cards on the field._

"I will risk it.. I reactivate the effect of the Dropship(1200/1200)!" The Carrier dropped another Unit, a simple Marine (1500/1500). This was of course tribute bait. "I sacrifice the Marine for a level 6 Ground Unit: Terran Siege Tank (3200/2800). It can attack you directly!" The Tank came to the field in defense mode and aimed its barrel at Anima. "Ugh!" And fired a shell straight at the duelist. He was knocked back, and covered in smoke. "You leave me no choice, Anima. It is them or you, and I choose them." He finished his turn again. "I admire that. But you still dont know their fate. While I know one of ours." He referred to his vision again. "Then what did you see? Tell me.." Fraser yelled. "You do not need to know, it will never happen again." Anima drew. "Again?" And he sacrificed both his monsters, Saix and the Dancer, to summon another Organization Member, the first. "Xemnas." He called out the ruler of nothingness(3000/2500). "What happened the first time? Wait, another tried to say it.." He suddenly remembered.

Anima's LP: 3800

Cable remembered what Xifos said the day before. It was something that sounded like a near-death experience. "Kill the target." Xemnas used his powers of both light and darkness to destroy the Siege Tank. Cable shielded his face from the shrapnel, and continued to shout. "Why wont you tell me!" Fraser was only concerned with his answer. "Because you can not understand, I saw what was seen by others. I lived when others died!" He yelled back. "I have a gift, but its not mine. I am nothing." He placed a trap card. "It was not always like this, I was normal once." He saw that Cable was still confused "Don't you get why I took this deck, this deck that you created? I am like them, heartless, a nobody. My powers are mere shadows." He ended his turn at last. "Then you got those powers, on that day?" There were no more replies.

"Regardless, I cant agree with your plan. Whatever you have seen, we can stop it without taking lives. I have faith in my friends, and you would too, if you stopped to think about them!" He used the Dropships effect again, and summoned a Terran Wraith (3000/800), sacrificing it immediately for an offensive ground unit, the level five, Terran Goliath (3400/2200). "I just can not understand you!" The Goliath attacked the Leader of XIII. "I wish I had faith..." He flipped a trap: Hall of Empty Melodies. "No!" It turned the attack back to the Goliath. The unit was blown up, leaving the Dropship defenseless "I really wish I could depend on them. I sent them into that world, I know. But the power that rests in these items, it should never be released. I am sorry, Cable." Cable could do nothing else in his turn "The end is coming."

_Terran Goliath, 5/2200/2000 Dark/Machine/Terran  
When this monster battles a Wind-attribute monster, or a Winged-Beast type monster, increase this monster's attack by 1000 during damage calculation only._

_Hall of Empty Melodies, Normal Trap  
You can only activate this card when a monster with 'Organisation XIII' in its name is attacked. Activate one of the following effects:  
- Destroy the attacking monster  
- Draw one card from your deck._

"I normal summon Marluxia, the Graceful." He called one of the newer members of the Organization, the flowery assassin(1700/1500). Its effect also allowed Anima to draw a new card, he gained another monster. "Kill it." He ordered Marluxia to take down the Terran ship, and he cleaved through it with the pink scythe. This left Fraser without any monsters to take hits for him. "And now, Xemnas." Finally the ruler of nothingness fired several red bolts into the air, which rained down upon the opponent. "The duel has finally changed tides, Cable. I hope that you will surrender soon. I do not want to see you harmed as well." The turn shifted again "Tsch. You keep on sounding all 'well-intended'. But the more I listen to you, the more I feel that you do not really care at all." He drew again, and summoned a new monster. "Terran Valkyrie (1800/1550), this card can attack all other monsters on the field. And thanks to my spell card: Command Center and Armory, it gains 1200 attackpoints (3000/1750)." The Valkyrie released a salvo of missiles, the first wave obliterated Marluxia, while the second detonated all around Xemnas. However since its attack was equal to that of the XIII Leader, they both died at the same time. _"That should be enough.."_

Cable's LP: 4200 Anima's LP: 2500

_Organisation XIII-Marluxia the Graceful Assassin, 4/1700/1500 Dark/Light/Wind Warrior/Nobody  
When this monster is succesfully normal summoned, choose one of the following effects and activate it.  
-Draw one card from your deck.  
-Discard one card from your opponent's hand._

"!" But then the smoke cleared, from which Xemnas emerged, armored and uninjured. "Armored Controller." Cable repeated. He now faced the second form of the final boss: Xemnas(3600/3300). "But I did not create that card." He also said. "I know." Anima replied as he entered his turn. "Just like Nelsons mandate for the Baker series. Some cards get additions beyond my influence." And since he played the game, he knew what to expect. But he hoped it would not come that far. "My turn." Anima drew, and played a spell. "Field card, The World That Never Was." It boosted all Nobodies on his field, and took down Cable's Command Center. Next he summoned yet another member: Vexen the Cold one (1800/2400). "Vexen can only be special summoned into defense mode, in which case he will negate all normal spells that you use." The Academic sat besides Xemnas(4000/3700). The Armored Nobody threw several spears at Cable, which knocked his life down by a large sum. "You are fortunate."

Cable's LP: 200

_Organisation XIII-Vexen the Chilly Academic, 4/1400/2000 Dark/Light/Water Spellcaster/Nobody  
When this monster is succesfully summoned, put this card in face-up defense mode. As long as this card remains in defense mode, your opponent cannot activate normal spell cards._

"I lack a second offense. Had I drawn something else, you would have lost already." He sighed. "But you did not." Cable drew and his eyes widened with ...joy. "Maybe this will get through to you." He summoned the Terran Ghost (2800/1000). "I still have the Armory!" The flying unit blasted Vexen to pieces. "Why do you leave yourself open like that?" Anima questiones his tactics, one blow would end the duel. "Or have you accepted my goals?" Cable shook his head. "No, I merely needed to use a normal spell again. I had to kill Vexen first." He activated the spell. "Nuclear Strike! I have to skip my battle phase next turn, but now I can bring in a strike to level your field!" The Ghost radio'd the base, and was given permission to drop the nuke. It flew into the air and released it. "You.." The bomb exploded in typical nuclear fashion, complete with mushroom clouds and shockwaves. It appeared that nothing remained on Anima's field. "You really trust them, dont you?" Two red lightsabers cut through the dust, something still survived.

"Oh no." Xemnas showed that he was still alive, and in fact stronger then ever(4300/4200). "Oh no." There was a third form. "Xemnas- The Superior. In this form, Xemnas has powers over light and darkness." Which was evident due to the black and white pattern of his clothes. "The card went that far." He never expected such power. "This may symbolize my own struggle, Cable Fraser. For I have yet to master both sides, I am stull but a shadow." His turn started. _"Ggh, even so. As long as he does not draw another monster card, I can survive this. I can remove one card in my hand, to negate his attack with the effect of Terran Ghost and remove Xemnas from play_." He knew for certain that there was no form after this one. "Draw." The enemy looked at the card, and closed his eyes. "Even fate agrees...with me. It wants a sacrifice again." He looked back at his 'friend'. "I truly wish that there was another way, but there is no god in this world that does not allow such a death." He summoned a monster in attack mode. "No..."

_Organisation XIII-Xemnas the Superior, 11/4300/4200 Dark/Light Machine/Nobody__  
This monster can not be normal summoned or set, this monster can not be special summoned, except when 'Xemnas: the Armored Controller' is sent to the graveyard.  
Once during your standby phase, you can activate one of the following effects  
- Remove one face-up card on the field, skip your next battle phase  
- Draw one card from your deck.  
- Until the end of this turn, this monster can attack all monster cards on the opponents side of the field_

It was the one member he had not yet used. "Lexaeus." The tall warrior of the earth (1600/1400). "!" Now Fraser realized he had no way out. Even if Ghost could remove itself to defend against one attack, two enemies was to much for it. "Its over." Xemnas raised both his energy swords. "But before you fall. I will tell you this: I was not always Anima." He clenched his free hand. "What I am now, what I will be. This happened for the sake of humanity. An accident happened, and I alone survived, and was given these 'shadow' powers. And I believed that fate gave me this gift to prevent such an event from ever happening again. Now you know why I was at the arena that day. But I know now that to save a soul, you sometimes have to destroy one... I enter my battle phase, and.. Attack." The Superior jumped straight at the Terran machine, cleaving through it. "So thats your story.. it reminds me of Jackson." He said with a grim tone. Cable removed a card in his hand from play to remove Xemnas from play

_Organisation XIII-Lexaeus the Silent Hero, 4/1600/1400 Dark/Light/Earth Warrior/Nobody  
This monster is unaffected by the opponents trap cards._

It worked, but now he was left with nothing to save himself. Before he knew it, Lexaeus had crushed him. "I...lost." He slumped to his knees. "I failed them all." Yet Anima was not expressing satsifaction or even conviction. "That card." His face had the signs of shock. "You still had it, all this time." The card that he discarded to remove Xemnas was: The Seal of Orichalcos. "...I forgot to take it out." It was there ever since Justine brainwashed him to duel against his friends. "You could have used it at any time, you might have won that way.." Anima sounded upset, angered. "Why didn't you! If you wanted to save them, you should have used all the power you had!" He cursed. "I can't do it!" Cable yelled back. "What?" Fraser looked away. "If I did, I would just be stopping one plague with the other. And I will not let that seal take another soul. Even if it means.." He started to lose consciousness. "The evil is not.." Anima could barely understand his words, before he passed out. Leaving him alone with the slab. "..."

Cable's LP: 0

(To be continued in Testament 082: Without Soul)

**New Cards used by Cable Fraser**  
_Terran Hero Duke_  
_Terran Dropship_  
_Terran Goliath_

_-_  
_Terran Command Center_  
_Terran Armory_

**New Cards used by Anima**  
_Organisation XIII-Zexion the Cloaked Schemer_  
_Organisation XIII-Demyx the Melodious Nocturne_  
_Nobody Dragon_  
_Organisation XIII-Saïx the Luna Divider_  
_Organisation XIII-Vexen the Chilly Academic_  
_Organisation XIII-Xemnas the Superior_  
_Organisation XIII-Lexaeus the Silent Hero_

_-_  
_Altar of Naught_

_-_  
_Hall of Empty Melodies_


	82. Testament 082: Without Heart

Testament 082: Without Heart

Anima was left alone to deal with the stone slab. Cable failed to stop him, and now he had passed out. "You..." If he would destroy the stone now, everyone inside the Memory World would fade, possibly even the souls that were not memories. "The one survivor will be you." That situation felt familiar, almost too familiar. "It is happening all over again. Many will die, one will live, become a shadow." Was he ready to put someone else through that experience? All his life he hated himself for surviving that disastrous day, but he also hated the ones that caused it. And now he was becoming one of them.. "Can I..."

Back at the Memory World, Mentu gave report to the queen and the pharaoh. "All three priests engaged in battle, thats good to hear." The woman smiled, sending Mentu off again. "Soon the invaders will be flushed out, and we will have the scales back." She turned away from the throne, leaving the ailing pharaoh to himself. "_Time is running out._" She thought as she looked out the palace, at the pyramid in front of her. "_The tomb is finished, the pharaoh is about to leave this world. Just one more day, and then the three gods will pass on to a new ruler. And that ruler will be ....me_" She smirked.

The battle between Kiya's forces and the Orichalcos soldiers started to put its toll on the humans. "Heh, they're tired already." Xifos gloated as he observed the battlefield from afar. "I wonder why you dont join in yourself." At that time, Eidos appeared behind him. "Eidos... Psh, you know why. That is a different task. Not that it stopped Illya." The two already knew that she had managed to claim another Millenium Item. "So you are just waiting for them to be too tired to fight back, she gets the scales, you want the key..." Eidos said, with a slight hint of disapproval. "Tsch, at least some will get something done. What have you found so far?" He grunted. "If not anything you should be worried." But Eidos turned around already. "Sorry, Xifos, but if I told you, you would take that trophy away as well. What I do, does not concern you. I just came to warn you, that is all." He flew off again, leaving Xifos behind to spot the thing that he was warned about. "..hate him." He cursed as he saw a second army join the river patrol, it was Ankhatens cavalry. "Tsch."

With two priests at one scene, it would be near impossible to collect an Item. Already Ankhatens arrival fueled the battle spirit of all other soldiers. They and the duelists fought back and gained ground. "Take that!" Colin yelled excitedly, as his Lava Golem captured one Soldier in his cage, melting it to nothing. While his Grinder Golem cut down another soldier behind him. "You have to much fun with this." Carter said, as his angels finished their own targets. "Tsch, what about her?" The seer pointed at the goth Cleo Caine in the background, who went through the trouble of overpowering one soldier with dozens of effectless demons. The battle was all but done, the two priests were quickly dispatching their own foes with spellcasters and beasts. "These Canadians are good, aren' t they?" Kiya said to Ankhaten. "They have access to Ka similar to ours. I wonder why." All he could think about was ways to find the strangers even more suspicious. "Sir!" Then a guard approached him. "We have slain them all sir, the enemy is defeated!" The squadron cheered.

"That was disappoining actually." Colin commented, kicking against an armored corpse. "I expected Glyph to send more for us to deal with." That thought was on other people's minds as well. Though the Egyptians credited it to their fine performance today. "I wonder how Osirid did." Nero said, though he was actually thinking off Christine. "Hrm, I wonder." William was deep in thought again. "It does seem odd that they only sent out troops. Where are the three assassins.." Then it hit him. "Oh no, this could be.." He glared back at the city. "What, what is it?" Nero shouted. "This may have been a diversion as well!" And he was quite correct with that theory. As Eidos returned to the palace rather quickly, which was still lacking in security. In fact Xifos seemed to have abandoned his position as well and fled to the city. "Oh no."

_"Thats what Glyph wants, no doubt about it." _Eidos pointed his dueldisk at a window through the palace. He was sure nobody saw him._ "The true soul in the sea of memories..." _He needed to get closer, from his current distance he could not tell which soul was which. However he had seen Uria's duel with Doe, she adopted a human form in that game, while he took on a monsterlike appearance. Then Eidos too should change his form to something less alarming. He reverted his appearance to his previous human self, and unknown young man with regular Egyptian clothes. The same type the 'Canadians' wore. "You're with them huh?" The guards all said, as he walked through the palace grounds. He simply nodded back. "_This worked better then I thought_" And so he managed to pass through hallway after hallway, until he reached the dome where he last saw the targets. And they were still near, inside a large room, there was a priestlike person. _"One of them must be the true soul_." and the three children of the Pharaoh.

Apparently this was the hour wherein they were educated, as the man prescribed an odd form of mathematics. Even a Pharaoh needed to know math apparently. And even though he wanted to get closer still, his dueldisk already gave an accurate reading at this range. "_It is best if I dont disturb the environment_." He checked the readout. There were three targets: The youngest sibling Tremu, the only daughter Senes, and the older brother Raness. The teacher was also there, the disk did not respond to him at all. "Tsch, its hard to read with four people in one place. But its one of the children at least." After some analysis runs, a list was made using all available parameters. Percentage-wise only one came out on top. He was so caught up in the moment that he let down his guard, and even whispered his words. "It is." But just then something came from behind. "What is?" Before he knew it, something slammed him against a pillar. Cleo panted, as she walked in from around the corner. "You thought you were clever huh."

In front of her was the Dark Master Zorc, this monster spirit had pushed Eidos into the walls. "Disguising yourself, abusing their poor memory skills. You fooled these people, but not us!" Of course such noise did not go unnoticed by the four across the hall. "Whats going on?" The eldest son ran up to the scene and demanded to know more. The others stood behind him. "Stay out of this, I can handle it." The goth replied. "But you are damaging the lecture dome!" The scholar protested. Eidos then crawled out from the rubble, showing no sign of injuries. "I am impressed, I did not think you would be fast enough to sneak up on me." He smirked, and dusted off his clothes. "Wait, he is..isn't he your friend?" The children asked her. "No way in hell. He was not at the dinner party, was he?" That much was true, yet he looked like them still, especially.. "Grrr!" She resumed her stance, and Zorc fired another blast of energy. This time however he saw it coming and dodged it. "I do not have time for this, I am on a mission" He grunted and landed on the floor again.

"_Xifos did not distract them for long, did he?" _He was not aware of it, but his intention to use the army's attack as a diversion was seen through. Mostly because they were killed faster then he thought, and Xifos never bothered to attack them. "Heh, when Carter came to the conclusion that somebody might've snuck into the palace, we quickly raced back there. And then we split up, searching for any signs of an intruder." She explained. "The guards may not recognize a seventh Canadian, but I sure can. This is not your true form, Eidos." Cleo hissed. "Stop defending, use that demon form of yours!" She shouted, as he dodged yet another blast from Zorc. "I will not give you that satisfaction, Cleo Caine. I already told you that I do not prefer that power. And if you think you can get even for your defeat earlier, then you are misguided." He said. "Oh I will give you misguided." She twitched, and Zorc prepared his final all-killing attack, when.. "Cleo stop!" Nero yelled, as he and the others barged into the hall as well.

"Why is everyone disrupting my class!" The teacher sulked. Some would agree that this was not good publicity. "We can not go around breaking apart the place, especially since Ankhaten already wants reasons to send us to prison." Colin fumed. "But thats Eidos!" She pointed at him. "It is? That must be his human identity." They caught on as well. "Human, form?" Metru repeated. "Is he an Atlantian?" Senes gasped. ".." But their questions would have to wait, for first came another revelation. William Carter came in last, as usual. And when he saw the face of the enemy, his jaw could have dropped to the floor. "That cant be." His eyes reflected the image of a person he did not expect to see here. "Brother?" At that time, the look of shock was passed on to half of the room. "WHAAAT!!?"

Cleo looked most stunned of all, and Eidos came in second. "What are you saying?" He responded with a cold tone that surprised William. "What do you mean? I know that face, thats you!" He yelled. "You, you are Andre Carter, my big brother!" The others began to see the resemblance, no wonder the guards were fooled. "I would remember that, if I were..what game is this?" However Eidos continued to ignore it. "Then what is your name, your human name? If Xifos is really Edgar, then you should have one too." Nero asked him. "I..." He wanted to anwwer. "I .." But he did not know. "This is not..right. I am Eidos...nothing more? No that can not be, stop confusing me!" He grabbed his head. "Let me guess, they erased that part of your memory." Colin scoffed. "I guess unlike Edgar, you did not volunteer to become a demonic cyborg." The same could be said for Venice, though they did not yet know that she was Illya. "This is a lie, a trick, a game." He grunted and put back on his yellowgreen armor. "I am Eidos, I work for Tumaga!"

William did not know what to say.

Though before any of them could restart the fight, the Egyptians had enough of standing around. "Look will somebody explain whats happening here? I am the Pharaohs heir, I demand that you tell me." Raness said, asserting his authority. "Same thing we'd like to know. Why are you here, there are no millenium items in this place." Colin, Cleo and Nero surrounded him, to make sure that he would not leave to soon. Eidos was still cofnused, but he realized he was in danger too. "Fine." Right now he did not feel like keeping secrets anyway. "I will tell you... Its you. I am after you." Eidos told him, the elder son. "Glyph programmed the disk to scans for the one true soul. See for yourself." He showed the digital readout of the scan, Raness had 93 % on the resulting graph. "Then what does that mean, he wants the pharaohs son, the items and the gods?" Then Senes interjected. "But he can not have the gods, only the royal line can control them." She explained. "Correct. His father is the current controller of the three nameless gods, only he can tell their names. The Atlantians can not get them." The teacher boasted. "I dont think we should be discussing this in front of them.." The duelists felt it was not good for them to hear this.

"Eh sir, will you escort the children to a safer place? We will detain the invader until a priest comes." Nero said, and they believed him. "Very well." He lead the sons and daughter away, though Raness gave one last suspicious look at the five. "What are you doing?" Eidos grumbled. "Carter says you're his brother. If thats true, then we can not let you get harmed can we?" Nero smiled, William was still to confused to speak. "We can not?" The goth and the seer moaned together. "Even if you say that, I am still your enemy. I can not just ignore my orders." He glared at the three around him. "But the true soul, thats what he wants isn't it? He is after the one whose memories we are in. And thats Raness, not the Pharaoh?" Though Eidos stayed silent and did not confirm the theory, he did not deny it either. Then it hit Cleo. "Eheheh, well well. I think you dont know what he wants either." She laughed. "Didn't Glyph tell you anything, and you are following a guy like that?" She found that amusing yet it did not help them much.

The assassin sighed. "That much is true, we are on a need-to-know basis." Suddenly he turned around, looking at his hand. "This warrants investigating." He started to float. "Trying to run away?" Colin asked. "No, I am simply returning to the base." He sounded rather calm about it. "I can not help it that several children might spot me on the way back." He was about to leave. "Wait, does that mean...that you are helping us?" They wondered. "This is more for my sake. I do not know who to believe, you or him. But this is not a direct contradiction of my orders, so.." He flew off, at a calm enough rate to be tracked by human eyes. "Do we trust him? What if this is a trap?" She said as she recalled Zorc. "Do we have a choice?"

As the sun began to set, they found his hiding place.  
It should have been the most obvious location of all, and yet they forgot about it. "Of course, the tomb." Glyph was deep inside the dungeons of the Pyramid..

(To be continued in Testament 083: Vampire's Tomb)


	83. Testament 083: Vampire's Tomb

Testament 084: Vampire's Tomb

"Left, you say?" The Priest Ankhaten had returned to the palace, only to find out that three of the Canadians mysteriuously disappeared with the invader. Only one stayed behind, Colin. "Curious Indeed." Mentu, informed by the teacher before, passed it on to Kiya and Ankhaten when they came back. "Maybe thats why they wanted to leave early. I think we should ask that one Canadian some..." And at that time, Jackson and Christine flew into the palace gates, though he quickly shed his wings before he was spotted by Mentu. "You're back as well! ...wait, where is Osirid?" Ankhaten pushed Mentu aside. "Exactly what I want to know. You two need to explain several things." He immediately threatened them with his rod. "Wait, we did not... we were ambushed! Uria attacked and ...killed the priest." Christine said, stunning the others. "He is...dead?" Kiya was most shocked of all. However Ankhaten only grew angrier. "Dead? By whom? Who is this Uria!? Where is your evidence, where is his body!" Luckily (or not), they were saved by another anouncement. A panicking guard showed up. "What is it?" Kiya asked. "My Lord! Taurts body! Its...dissolved, there is nothing but sand left!" A guard screamed. "What?"

The rest had gathered in front of this city's Pyramid. This was Glyphs hideout, he was this close all along. "Do we have to go in now?" Eidos had flown into an open tunnel at the pyramids side, and they had to follow or else they'd lose their chance. "Never thought I'd be using a dueldisk to make light." Will said, as the three had turned on their disk light emitters to shed some light on this place. "Hurray for a useless feature. Meanwhile that brother of yours is nowhere to be seen anymore." Cleo hissed. "He led us this far, it is enough." Nero said, as he walked ahead of the rest. "Then how are we supposed to find our way to where they hide their stolen millenium items?" They stopped then. "We follow the sounds." Carter smirked, as he heard a faint noise. "This way." He lowered his voice, and directed the others to the left. After a few more dark hallways, they came upon a large opening. "Whoa." Beyond the opening was the source of all that sound and glimmer. A grand battery of Orichalcos Soldiers.

"Man..this must be where the soldiers come in from the real world. This is twice as much as the previous armies combined." And every minute, a new one was teleported in. "The biggest invasion is yet to come." There was no time to waste. "Thats why we have to be quick." Carter whispered. "Staring around here wont do us good." So before they were noticed they went another way, there was a second glow further down the tunnel. That light came from a smaller room. "Cheery place to lay a king to rest." Cleo and the others ended up in the most important room of a Pyramid, the sarcophagus chamber. "Well it has everyting you'd expect. Hieroglyphs, pots, and one big coffin. No soldiers though, maybe Glyph is out in the night." But before long their eyes all fell on the coffin. "You do not think."

Suddenly they felt a dark presence on their necks. "You believe he is..in there? He'd be crazy enough for it." They walked up to it. "Maybe he is asleep then." They had to know, despite their fears they had to find out. "On three." Carefully they pushed the lid down, and they all peered inside. All they saw was darkness so far. "Whew nothing yet.." Nero took a closer look, he then saw something shimmer. "Hey is that?" He tried to reach for it, as the lid was not completely pushed off yet. But then something reached out for him. "Look out!" A claw came from the sarcophagus. "Ah!" Caine pushed Jacobus aside, and they narrowly avoided the shadowy hand. Next the lid was blown off fully, and from the coffin came a familiar demon, staring at them with glee. "You!" Glyph was inside after all. "Welcome, children. You finally found me." He smirked as he took his solid form. He still looked very old compared to the last time they saw him. "Or...did I find you?" At the same time, Eidos, Illya and Xifos walked in from the chambers exit.

Their path was cut off, they were trapped. "It was a trick after all!" Cleo rasped. "You lured us here?" She said to Eidos, who refused to answer. "Did he now? Have to admit, thats a nice sneaky plan." Xifos chuckled, it appeared he told nobody of this plot. "Now you are going to die at last." He instead glared at them, Nero in particular. "I guess you wanted these." Glyph then produced the items, the scales and ring, from his suit. Taken from the deceased priests "You are that determined to stop me, and you dont even know what I intend to do." He sighed, stepping down from the sarcophagus. The three assassins surrounded the duelists and the vampire. "Nor do we." Eidos spoke at last. "You do have a point. Maybe I have not been fair with intelligence." He was still smiling. "Very well, I will tell you all what I came here for. I have held it back for far too long" He put the items back inside his coat. "Immortality." He said with wide toothy grin. "I can see why." Cleo quipped, staring at his withering appearance. "Heh, still the witty one."

"But yes, what you see right now is my true age. I have lived for centuries in fact, thanks to my 'vampiric' abilities. Thats another story for another time though." Hhis current power he owned to someone else who wished to remain anonymous. "However the immortality I speak off, is a pure one. I want the immortality of the true soul. And the owner of the gods." They all looked at him in amazement. "Thats what this is for?" They responded incredulously. "Yes, you see. He who owns the puzzle, owns the gods." He extended his hands to the ceiling. "The one who created this world of memories was the last owner of the gods powers, these mighty spirits are sealed inside as well. I opened the world to return to that time where he first got such powers." He poined at the tomb. "This is for the current Pharaoh Shenu, you saw him I assume, the old man? He is going to die soon, tomorrow even. These memories last only for a small timeset, and loop continuously around his or her fathers death. Until...they show up."

"When he dies, before the next sunset. the heir will take over and claim his gods. It involves a ritual on the top of the pyramid, with all seven items and priests." He shook his two stolen items vigorously. "He who succeeds Shenu will learn the names of the three gods, and inherit them." The gryphon, the soldier and the dragon. "But this time, he wont get to do that. Instead I will be there to start the ritual in the current rerun of his memories. I will drink the heirs spirit and become the next Pharaoh in his stead!" He laughed maniacally. "You want to do what with him, suck his blood like a goddamn vampire?" Cleo shouted. "Him? Oh I see, you met the heir as well. That is convenient.. then you my dear can bring me too him!" He snapped his fingers. "Kill the boys. Keep Cleo alive for now, heh." Illya and Xifos leaped into the air. "No wait, dont do this!" Nero cried. "To late, its payback time!" He shot two spikes at Carter and Nero. "Wait!" Yet before they hit, Eidos came in between and deflected them. "What, what are you doing?!!!"

"I have one more question." He said, as he glanced at Carter and then Glyph. "Justine must have told you, Glyph. What is my real name?" The vampire was caught off guard by this question. "Hmm, now I get it." He coughed. "Wait, he does not remember?" Xifos was confused, Illya did not care much. "They discovered that too, eheh. They know that you three were once humans: Edgar Diamond, Venice Gray and Andre Carter." Once again everyone was shocked. "Venice?" William stared at Illya, he could not see the resemblance. "Psh. I already told that to Jackson, get with the times." She snapped back. "I see, so we are brothers after all." Eidos sounded disappointed. "Do not blame me, eheh. Justine was the one that thought it was funny to turn the brother of a wanted duelist into a machine." The vampire cackled. "No, I am not mad." He shook his head. "I am ..very calm." He told him, just before he initiated the transformation into Hamon. "What, Andre!!" His armor tore off instantly. "No...Not here you dolt!"

Eidos turned into Hamon, even though the chamber was far to cramped to allow such a size-transition. Thus as he finished his metamorphosis, he had broken through the roof. And he could be seen from the outside of the pyramid, much to the dismay of the villagers. "You idiot, now everyone knows we are here!" Xifos cursed. "Let him be. We were going to invade soon anyway." Glyph said, still acting confident. "What are you doing brother?" William yelled at the demon. He did not feel uncomfortable at all with calling him that. "Run from here! I will hold them off." Hamon/Eidos/Andre roared. "No we can help you!" He protested, but then Xifos headed straight for the duelists. "We need to go now!" Nero grabbed William and jumped on top of the coffin. "No, I can not leave him." He could not look away, he had not seen his brother in such a long time, he did not want to abandon him again. "Go!" Eidos roared once more and Nero dragged Carter away. They jumped against the wall, climbing through the opening that the sacred beast made.

Cleo tried to do the same. "Hey, whats the big idea!" Only for Xifos to tackle her. "Cleo!" Nero yelled. Andre heard this and turned his attention on the blue assassin. "Edgar!" That mention was enough to stop him. "Do not call me that, traitor!" He still held Caine down. "Let her go, or I will.." He was about to raise his bladed hand to add a physical touch to his threat. "Behind you!" Except, just then. "Gyeheh, die!" Illya pierced right through the demons chest with her tail. "Venice, no!" The others screamed, they were too late. She had transformed into the crimson snake Uria and snuck up on Hamon. Only another Sacred Beast could deliver such a wound to one of his own. "Brother!" Even Xifos was not expecting that development. "Illya, what did you do, he was still in this team..." Hamon coughed up blood, and reverted back to his cyborg form. "No, No! Let me go!" And all Carter could do was struggle, as Nero ran with him to safety. "I need to see if he is alive, I need to..." They were gone from sight.

Cleo was not so fortunate though, Xifos put more weight on her than needed. "Heh, no running away for you." Xifos grabbed Cleo by the neck. "The others will soon follow." However she still resisted and lashed out at him, punching.... "Get lost!" ... his disk, which he used to block her attack. "Tsch. Don't even try. This is not a good time to mess around." Glyph then walked up to the both of them. "Careful now, dont harm my miracle worker. We need her to tell us who the heir is." He gloated. "What do we need her for actually, we have the dueldisks dont we?" Xifos said. "Truth be told, I never did put much faith into those contraptions, if they worked you would have found him by now. When you have lived as long as I do, you find yourself struggling harder and harder to keep up with the times." He then turned his smile to Caine. "It is funny though, we are both technically immortal. But he depends on science, whereas I used magic." He cackled. "Hysterical." Cleo gave her strained yet sarcastic response. "I will crack you yet."

It was then that a new guest showed up. "Oh Glyph, making a snide remark about technology behind my back?" Justine showed up in the middle of the ruined chamber. "How like 'you'." The vampire merely grinned. "Heh, it may have its ups and downs. If I get my laptop to work, it works well." She ignored him and checked the wreckage of the demonic battle instead. "We made quite the mess didnt we?" She stopped near the body of Eidos, he was mostly intact was offline. "He betrayed us." Illya hissed, trying to excuse her attack. "I know, I saw it all. I guess I did not do my best with his programming. Oh well, next time I will make sure." Xifos flinched. "Next time? He is dead isn't he?" He asked. "Of course not. This place is not real remember? You only killed his spirits memory. I will simply have to reboot his mind back in the real world." She would just have to avoid too much personality. "You picked Wills brother on purpose, didnt you?" Cleo cursed in between her laughs. "It helped that he was already suspicious of Tumaga, hee."

"Justine. Your work on the traitor can wait, we have more urgent business." Glyph stopped smirking for once. "I can see that." She stared at the dark sky above her, and to the palace in front. "I checked the streams. I really doubt that anyone has not seen the show of our yellow friend here. The palace will soon overrun this place with soldiers." There was indeed a lot of noise coming from the palace, and the city itself. "I dont think you can get all remaining items in time... Of course you no longer want to wait, do you?" The vampire's only response was a malicious sneer. "I thought so. Well there is no need to worry. The process is complete, I have sent all soldiers. Do with them as you wish." She walked off, kicking Eidos's body around before taking it with her. "Heh. I will, my dear." He turned back to the assassins. "Put the miracle girl somewhere safe. This will get very..._very_ rough for this place."

(To be continued in Testament 084: Sieging the Heavens)


	84. Testament 084: Sieging the Heavens

Testament 084: Sieging the Heavens

Jackson and Christine met up with Colin at the palace. Each had a a startling revelation for the other. "Not Carters brother too." Christine moaned, while Colin was equally stunned. "Yeah, I forgot he even had one. And who knew that Venice could be such a lunatic." He shook his head in disbelief. "It is not her. Her minds been reprogrammed by Justine, she does not even know herself anymore." Doe explained. However their exchange did not go far, due to the priests. "You three still have things to tell us." Ankhaten would not leave without answers, not anymore. "Taurts body is gone, and you claim Osirids body faded as well. You know something." Kiya and Mentu shared his look of suspicion. "You still do not trust us? We helped you!" Sairve yelled. "You have given us no reason to trust you." Ankhaten grunted. "Enough. I know what will bring out the truth." Then out of nowhere, Lady Neith came. "I will read their minds with my Millenium Eye. We will see for ourselves, what happened." The others gulped, there was no defense against that.

Luckily a certain cyborg picked that time to reveal his beastly presence, Hamon and Uria crashed through the walls of the pyramid. "What in the name of.." The priests all looked out to the horizon and saw the same nightmarish events that the city witnessed. "Thats Hamon, and Uria!" They could not quite make out what happened however, all they knew was that one beast fell down again. "Then thats the place? The invaders hid inside the kings royal resting place?" Mentu gasped. "Those lowlifes." Ankhaten turned away from the three duelists. "This requires our immediate attention. I will take the troops and flood the atlantians from the pyramid. If any of you Canadians want to prove your allegiance, now would be the best time." He glared at them. "Fine, if thats what it takes. I will join the battle." Colin fumed. "I will help as well." Rose said. She wanted to be there not to please him, but to face Illya herself. "The rest of you, stay behind and guard the king. Some of them may try to attack the palace again."

So Ankhaten and a couple of dozen cavalry troops stormed through the streets, racing through panicked citizens to get near the pyramid. Colin and Christine were hot in pursuit, though they held on tight to other egyptians. "_Ggh, I wish there was a seer that could predict that riding horses sucks in the future._." Sairve fought with his own urge to throwi up. On ther other hand Christine was too focused to let it get to her. "Nearly there." She told herself. Ankhaten was however worried, the place had gotten awfully quiet. "Do they know we're coming? If they are capable of logic, they must be" The squadron then stopped moving when they entered the area. "Finally." Colin dropped from his place, and crashed into the ground. "Are they still here?" A guard asked the priest. He raised his rod to scan the area. "....?!" And it began to shake, as it picked up an enormous amount of mana. "Oh no." From the hole in the structure came the first Orichalcos demon, and then another, and another...there was no end to them.

"Crap." Colin gave up count after the first one hundred.

While the soldiers went out to stop the threat, the priests remained inside the palace awaiting the results of the battle in anxiety. Neith retreated with the king to the royal chambers, while Kiya and Mentu took the children to the throne room, which was the most fortified place in the building. Jackson was about to join them, when Nero showed up near the entrance. "Please, let me through." He was out of breath. Two guards refused to let him pass. "Nero?" Jackson came from the other side. "He is with me." Though the two egyptians raised objections, they could not refuse Doe and let Jacobus through. "What happened?" He asked immediately. "I lost..him..William. He went ..ahead to...his brother. I tried to stop him..." He spoke still trying to catch his breath. "Relax, tell me what happened before that." He spent the next minute to calm his friend, after which he was ready to tell what he knew. "So, Raness is the heir for the gods powers? I wonder if he knows. If he is the oldest son, then me must know."

Raness was with his siblings in the throne room. Metru was especially troubled, since he had never dealt with invasions before. "They wont break into the palace will they?" He asked the others. "There is no way for them to do that, right Lady Kiya?" Mentu said, and the priestess nodded as well. While this was enough to put the kid at ease, the others remained on edge. Especially Raness who sat next to the throne like a statue. Just then Jackson and Nero returned. "Any news, whats going on outside?" Questions were thrown at them immediately. "We did not see much. But.." Jackson did most of the talking, to let Jacobus rest. "The Atlantians are after the 'king' and the items, and they were inside the Pyramid yes. The battle is still going on. However I do not think they can stop them all, the city is already under attack." It was true, outside they could see the dozens of Orichalcos knights. All of them were charging people's houses. "Ankhaten wont let us down. He never gives up." Mentu said. "But Taurt and Osirid have already fallen."

"What if.." But their concern grew exponentially when they could actually hear sounds coming from the battle outside. "He can not handle them all? The sound is getting closer." Senes said, as the noise sharply rose in level. "They broke through already?" Kiya readied her Key, while Mentu took hold of his Tauk. "It is." And right then, the doors were blasted wide open, and the enemy crashed the throne room. Illya, Xifos and Glyph all walked inside, the latter draped in a dark cloak. "You!" Jackson rasped. This was the first time he could see the face of the aged Glyph. It was the first time the priests saw him at all. "Well hello there." His weary eyes fell on the two servants. "Now would you be kind enough to tell me, which one of you is the heir to the throne?" Metru immediatly squeeled and hid behind Kiya. "Kiya. Take the children and go." Mentu told his female companion. "But I.." She tried to resist. "Dont argue with me! Just go!" He raised his tauk. "Okay. But I wont leave without helping you." She used her Key. "Hmm, summons?"

With his tauk he summoned an Angel O7, while she gave him a Dark Magic Sorcerer to command. "Come children." She directed the three towards the gate behind the throne. "I will join you." Nero nodded to Jackson, and left as well. Leaving Doe and Mentu to face -off against the three villains. "Children huh? Could one of those be the succesor?" He smirked. Glyph could not get a good look at them because the priests monsters blocked his view. He would have to get rid of him first. "I wonder how many kids the king has, I hear these lords produce a lot of offspring." He cackled, as Illya and Xifos started to advance on the two. "Offending the lord, trespassing in his holy domain. You will face death for such insolence." Mentu rasped. "Take this!" Both the fairy and the mage flew upwards and casted their spells at Glyph. "So you say." However before the spells hit, they were knocked away by the two assassins. "Dont forget us!" Illya hissed. "Feel the power of the atlantian beasts!" Xifos shouted.

The cyborgs charged at the monsters, and plowed right through them. "Curses!" He could not lay a hand on the vampire as long as he had his henchmen. However. "Dont forget us either." Suddenly one of Jacksons monsters appeared behind Glyph, it was the Death Symbol Thanatos himself. "Can your immortality survive this?" He growled as he was about to cut down the enemy with his sword. "Heh." Yet at the last second, something shielded his blade. "Maybe I can, 'reaper'." A plated earth dragon received the deadly blow, rocks flew everywhere. "Megarock Dragon?" Mentu reocgnized it as one of the monsters that he had sealed inside the library. "But how, only the millenium wielders can summon Ka from the temple!" It was then that Glyph tossed aside one half of his cloak, and revealed the Millenium Ring around his neck and the Scales in his left hand. With these he could now too summon Ka monsters stored inside the holy temple. "No! Taurts..and Osirid...you! They died because of you!" He gasped. "Correct."

He then summoned a second Ka with his other item. He called out the Messenger of Hades - Gorz. "Lets see whose sword is sharper." Thanatos and Gorz clashed with their weapons, and unfortunately the Persona of Death was no match for the Hades demon. "Gh." Meanwhile Xifos and Illya surrounded Mentu. "Hand over that necklace, and we may let you live!" Illya screamed. "I will not yield, I will make you pay for the death of my friends!" Mentu spat and attempted another summon. "No, Mentu look out!" But Glyph did not allow it, Megarock Dragon was not quite dead yet. "Gaaah!" The dragon slammed him against the walls with its powerful tail, the shock caused him to drop his Millenium Item. "Aaaugh!" The crash took the wind out of him, and he dropped to the floor. "Is he dead?" Illya wondered. "Who cares." Xifos landed on the floor, took the millenium item from the dismembered fingers, and tossed it to Glyph. "To easy." He placed it around his neck, four to go. "And what about you, Jackson Doe? Your options are severly limited."

The three circled around Jackson. "Either you accept defeat, and die along with the others. Or you will die right now, as you struggle to resist. A duel wont save you now." As much as Jackson hated to admit it, he had lost. "Fine." He discarded his dueldisk and his cards. "Tsk, why dont we off him right now? These guys can cause a lot of trouble if left alive." Xifos grunted. "No, he will live. At least until he sees my new immortal form. When I obtain that power, I shall kill him with my own hands." He sneered at the symbolist. "You must look forward to that." Jackon however met his gaze with a curious expression. "Your power? I do not know..something feels odd about you." Glyph flinched. "I sense something inside of you that.." But before he could finish the sentence, Glyphs monster Gorz knocked him out with a hard hit from the hilt of its sword. "Dont go to far, Jackie-boy." His left eye twitched and he turned away from them. "Take him to the royal garden. I think we shall transport all survising prisoners there." Xifos dragged the body over his shoulder. "Very well." And flew off. "Illya, call the soldiers that dont have anything to do at the moment. Tell them to seal off all exits, nobody must leave this palace."

"Oh no." Kiya looked back. "I can not sense Mentu's mana anymore That must mean.." They stopped at a dead end. "Is he gone, it cant be!" Metru whined. "I am sure its okay." Senes tried to calm him down. "Kiya, why are we here?" Raness asked her. "Why aren't we helping them instead?" But she shook her head. "No, you are the heir to the throne. If the Pharaoh falls, only you can lead the kingdom into safety." She then pushed a wall section behind a torch, revealing a secret tunnel behind the stone. "Take this exit, it will bring you to a secure building just inside the city. They wont be able to find you there." Raness looked disappointed. "I can fight you know, I trained for it." He sighed. "I know, but.." Her eyes then fell on Nero. "You, Canadian. Will you please lead them there?" Nero blinked in surprise. "Wait, you trust me?" The priestess nodded her head. "I can sense much good in you. Remember that the key can detect the form of one's Ka: the spirit inside. Yours is a strong and benevolent one, I can trust you."

"Wait, aren't you coming?" Senes asked, as they walked into the tunnel. "No, I can not. I know now why the enemy found us so easily." She turned away from the four. "He killed Osirid and took his ring. The ring has the power to show the positions of all other items. If I follow you, they will track the key down and you will be found. I can not allow that to happen. Now go!" She then quickly closed the door again. "But what will you do!?" Nero asked her, before his voice was drowned out by the sealed stone. "I know what I will do." She walked back down the halls. "I shall join Lady Neith, and help her with her last stand" She knew that the King and Queen would not last long. There was one last hidden room in this palace, she knew that thats where Neith and the King would be. Glyphs ring would find them too...

As for Carter. He was still around, approaching the palace at his own pace. He had given up trying to rescue Andre when he could no longer see through the mass of soldiers that came from the pyramid. Instead he hid in the shadows, and watched as one house after the other was ransacked. The villagers were taken by the demons, they could offer no resistance. "_Where are they going?" _He followed them, and they all moved towards the pharaohs place. "_What do they want with the people? Holding them as a hostage for the heir?" _He neared the walls with care. He wanted to help the citizens, but on his own he could barely take down one demon. _"Maybe I should not have ran from Nero.._" He continued to track the movements of the enemy, hoping to stay out of their sight. Alas, not every threat kept his eyes on the egyptians alone. "Will.."

Illya hovered in the sky, overseeing the project. It was when the sun began to rise again, that she noticed an unwanted individual below her. "William..Carter...thats his name..."

(To be continued in Testament 085: Regicide)


	85. Testament 085: Regicide

Testament 085: Regicide

The queen had taken the pharaoh to a secret chamber deep in the palace, and behind her was a giant stone slab hanging against the wall. "He is here!" She was joined by Kiya. These two were now the last priests standing between the king and the invader. "Let him come." The doors blew wide open again, in came the old villain, gloating all the way. "Take this trespasser!" Kiya raised her key. "You shall not take another step!" But he then pulled out all three items from his robes. "I think I shall!" He used their combined inivisible energy to instantly force the priestess against the walls, knocking her out cold before she could summon a Ka. "It is getting to easy." He continued his path towards the Pharaoh. "Curses.." This left only Lady Neith to defend the lord. "Come to me my personal Ka!" She called out the strongest demon at her command, the immensely powerful demon of Sacrifices: Relinquished. "You will not touch the king, you will not take our items." She hissed. Glyph then stopped walking. "Heh. Why do you insist on defending the dead?"

Her one true eye widened. "What are you talking about?" She looked back at the lord, who only appeared to be too tired to move. "You do not fool me anymore, my lady." He tapped the scales in his left hand. "These scales detect spiritual energy, and they can not scan the old geezer. That soul is long gone." He then pointed the item at her. "Yet you, it can sense evil within you." The left pan of the scale lowered. "You hid this malice from the other priests somehow. Perhaps one item alone can not see into the mind of others. But I have three. Ehehe." Neith took a step closer to the king. "Tsch, he is still alive." Glyph shook his head. "Dont make me repeat myself. That man is dead, for quite some time. You fooled everyone into thinking he was still alive. Probably an illusion spell of sorts, which is not hard to do with a mindreading object" And he understood why, all he had to do was think of his own plans. "I know why you did it. I see now that the current owner of the gods names is not him, but it is you, my lady."

She flinched, but she was no longer shivering. "You discovered it." Neith clenched her fist. "As long as everyone thinks he is still alive, the heir wont inherit the names. I only needed more time." The vampire laughed even harder. "Ahaha. ingenious. The second greatest power in the kingdom becomes the first...but.." He summoned energy within his scales, and monsters with his other items. "This means that there wont be a succession ritual until the previous powers are gone. And since the king is dead, I only have to.." A dragon and a devil came into the chamber: Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Wicked Eraser. "Dispose of you." He sneered, and the two beasts were fused with the power of the scales, forming a new monster: Blue-Eyes Devil Dragon. "You wont succeed! I have come to far to allow one measly Atlantian to ruin it all. We eradicated your clan before, we will do it again!" She commanded the Sacrificial demon to open its maws and suck up the dragon. "You are mistaken! I am not an Atlantian, I am simply an opportunist!" The Devildragon countered her attack with a large burst of bloodred energy. "Hell Stream Destruction!" The bursting stream travelled straight into the open mouth of Relinquished, and blew it open from the inside out.

"No.." Neith coughed up blood. She had lost her best Ka ally, her personal spirit. "They say that when a human loses their Ka, they die. I wonder if thats true." He grinned, as he watched the queen collapse as a result of the spirits destruction. "Rgggh, I lost my chance... for my..." She coughed for a few more times. "dark priest..." And then her body gave in, the queen was dead. "The gods have nobody to hold their name." Strangely her body did not dissolve into sand. "Hrm, curious." He figured that this happened because she was related to the true soul himself, the royal souls were too strong a memory. "And now." He walked over to the body. "Three more." He ripped the Millenium Eye from her eyesocket, snatched the Puzzle from the neck of the Pharaoh's corpse, and took the Key from Kiya's hands. "The game is as good as mine." He had six items. Ironically the missed the one item he had in real life: Ankhatens Millenium Rod. "_Its time for my miracle worker to do her job. Justine should have her transported here by now."_

Ankhatens forces did the best they could against the swarm of Orichalcos soldiers, but they were losing more men then the opposition. "There are simply to many!" The guards were being picked off one by one. "Do not yield, give your life for the king!" One of them screamed. "Tsch, its not them that are as bothersome. But the soldiers have their own Ka spirits." Ankhatens own Ka beasts could barely fend off the numerous duel monsters the enemy had called out. Christine and Colin were getting tired as well. The flow of Orichalcos demons seemed to be endless. "Hey whats going on?" And then it got even worse. Several of the soldiers had formed a circle, and green light began to glow in their midsts. "No thats the seals.." They recognized it as the accursed field spell. "Run!" The two duelists ran as fast as they could, but not everyone was a nimble as them. A dozen seconds later, the seal erupted. "What?" The field of Orichalcos encompassed all of the battlefield, and started sucking the souls of every soldier present. "No, no, NO!"

Meanwhile Nero and the kids ended up in a dark papyrus-storage room, the tunnel went no further than this. "..." It was devoid of people. "The sounds getting weaker, the battle must be ending." Senes said. "Then who won?" Metru asked. "We can not tell, we can not go outside right now." Nero would have to trust the priests and his friends, he hoped that everyone was okay. "_Why.." _Raness looked at him with questioning eyes. "There is something you are not telling us." He said finally. "I can see it." Nero cringed, since he was right. "You should not need to know." He told him. None of them would understand it. "I think I do. I am the son of the king, and I knew what I heard. That man is after the heir of the throne..and that is me." He snapped, while Senes and Metru simply looked on with mixed expressions. "Its complicated, Raness. Trust me. It is because of that, that everyone wants to keep you away from him. I too want to go out there, but its just not safe." He said with a heavy tone. "Right now, everyone is better off if you stay inside."

But not everybody would follow that advise. William was still following the soldiers that took the captured villagers out of their homes. _"The palace? Its been taken already?!" _He saw that they were all rounded up in the garden of the royal temple. There had to be hundreds of them, some crying, some shouting. _"Damn."_ But the Orichalcos demons were too strong to be trifled with, they kept everyone in line. At the same time, assassins flew in the air to oversee the process from above. _"What do I do? Maybe some of my friends are in there as well, I have to save them somehow!" _Unfortunately for him and his plans, another entity felt that he had spent enough time loitering around the palace grounds. She made her move. "Stop right there." Behind him appeared the crimson killer cyborg, Illya. "You.." Carter turned around slowly.

He stood face to face with what used to be one of his best friends. "Venice... No, Illya...." And also the one that stabbed his brother. "You killed Andre." He felt his body tremble with anger. "There was no Andre, only Eidos." She responded with her harsh inhuman voice. "Then I guess there no longer is a Venice either." He spat. "Indeed. She was weak, she died. Andre was weak, so he had to go as well. But he will come back, as Eidos again." She chuckled. But he was not upset with hearing that. "Good." He took out his dueldisk, and activated it. "Then I wont have to hold back. I can give my opponent all that she deserves." The assassin merely tilted her head. "You want to fight me...Me!?" He nodded. "I am fighting for both their souls. You killed Ned, you killed Venice, you killed Andre. Now I will kill you." Illya was amused enough to comply, and she summoned her disk from her hand. "Wait, you forgot that priest with the ring, kyeheheh!" Both players drew their cards. "I know..and that will make this even easier for me.."

Illya's LP: 8000 Williams LP: 8000

"I will start." He entered his main phase, and activated the spell card Power of Yin & Yang. "No more lives will be taken!" The spell allowed him to special summon a Light-type from his hand when a dark-type was on his field, or vice versa. "I normal summon the Celestial twins, Gellen Duo (1700/0)." The first was a level four light type. "And then I special summon Mefist, the Infernal General (1800/1700)." The second was a level five dark type. "Next I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Illya was rather pleased with this turn of events, as she could not help looking at the field without a confident cackle. "Well, what if I take your life?" She had Uria in her hand already, she could summon it in one turn. "Draw!" But at that time, he activated his two facedown cards. "Power Wall!" First he played the milling trap, discarding 7 cards from his deck to boost Mefist by 700 points (2500/1700). "What will that accomplish? Thats not even close to Uria at his weakest!" She laughed and was about to play a card, when. "And Epidemic!"

After the Power Wall came a card that Marcus once used against Anima; the eradicator virus. "I know what kind of game you play, Illya." He could offer a 2500-attackpoint dark monster, to release the disease. Mefist had exactly what he needed. "I declare traps! From now on, you cant activate any trap card for three turns!" He shouted, as the virus was unleashed on her hand and field. "NO!" All her traps were infected by it amd sent to the grave, leaving her with no defense, and no options to summon Uria. "You will die, Illya." She had nothing to do, her turn had to be ended. "Direct attack!" Carter did not waste this golden oppurtunity and attacked with the fairy duo. The twins hit Illya dead on, and managed to knock her back. "That was just the beginning!" He shouted, as he finished his turn. "I could have done even more damage, however you were fortunate enough that I dont have the proper cards for Yin Yangs effect." He only had 1 monster card in his hand, and it was a light-type, he needed another dark type.

Illya's LP: 6300

"Hsss. You wont get another chance!" She drew her cards, however the card: Metal Reflect Slime, was immediately removed from her hand. The disease still lingered on the field. "You dont get it, do you? My virus lasts three turns, and this is only your second. Since you rely on trap cards, you wont be able to summon Uria, or anything else." He smirked. "Tsch, you wont finish me in that time. Attack me if you dare." She ended her turn as well, clenching her fists. "I will." He drew, and finally got a dark monster. "I summon Archfiend Soldier (1900/1500). Now that there is a dark monster on the field, I can special summon a light monster from my hand. So I call out Tethys of the Light(2400/1800)!" Now he had two angels and one darkling, all ready to pounce on the former Venice. "I am almost done with you!" The three monsters charged, pelting her with light mana, halo blasts and sharp claws. "Almost, but not just yet!" She yelled back at him. "You refuse to surrender then? Thats good, because I want to finish this myself."

Illya's LP: 300

His turn was over, but his hatred kept growing. "Tsk. Too bad you can not choose at all." However in her turn, the virus did not force a discard from her hand. Meaning that she had picked up either a monster or a spell card. "I play this!" She used a spell called: Erda's Guidance. "I can discard one card in my hand, to place 1 trap back on the field." She discarded Temple of the Kings, the only other nonspell in her deck. "Set a card facedown. That is all, eheheh." One trap stood between her and his triumph over her. "So you got one trap back. Do you think that will be enough? Even if you survive, you can not sacrifice just one card for Uria." He drew again, it was an angel-type card: Angel 07. "I drew a fairy, that activates the effect of Tethys: I get to draw one more card." He drew again, and skipped his main phase. "Do not try to resist if you are in there Venice. I am doing this for you too." His dark and light army attacked a second time. "Ehgehehee. Trap card." And Illya was all too eager to chain. "What?!" His attack was blocked!

_Erda's Guidance, Normal Spell  
Discard 1 card. Select 1 Trap Card from your Graveyard and place it face-down it on your side of the field._

She called out one mechanical drone. "Delta Barrier: this trap calls out two more Delta Barriers when it is activated." Will gasped, as he realized her plan. "_Dont tell me, I sent those to the cemetery when I activated the virus?" _Two of the cards that were affected by the virus were placed on the field. The barriers combined and formed an energy shield. "This effect works when all three are here! They can negate all damage in a turn." One of the barriers drained its energy to block the angels and fiends. "..so close." At this rate, she would definitely summon the sacred beast, and turn the duel in her favor. "But, not yet!" He then offered Gellen Duo, which counted for two tributes, to tribute summon the seven-star Angel 07 (2500/1500). Illya glared at Angel 07, and cackled. "Whats this supposed to do?" She did not wait and sacrificed the barriers. They were replaced with the monster in her hand. "!!!" Uria came out and its roars were heard by the entire palace, alarming friend and foe alike about their duel. "No, this cant be." He stared at the crimson demon, whose power was enhanced by the five continuous trap card in her grave (5000/5000). "You said that you would kill me to honor that weak girl. But now instead, I shall kill you!

"I will show you how weak every one of her kind was!"

(To be continued in Testament 086: In Sickness)

**New Card used by William Carter**  
Archfiend Soldier

-  
Eradicator Epidemic Virus

**New Card used by Illya**_  
Erda's Guidance _(+)

(+) Based on the same card used by Ziegfried in YGO's KC Grand Prix Arc


	86. Testament 086: In Sickness

Testament 086: In Sickness

While the hideout did prevent the soldiers from finding Nero and the children, they still had to hide inside when someone else entered the complex. "Ankhaten!" To their relief it turned out be the last priest standing. "My lord." He was pleased to see the three, less so to see Jacobus. "How did you find this place, why are you here?" He asked the staff wielder. "Every priest knows about this place, my lord. The palace was my first goal, but its been overrun. I came here to see if anyone managed to escape." He looked around. "Is this all?" He expected to see at least one priest. "Yes. Kiya stayed behind to help the queen. And Mentu..we dont know what happened to him. It was the Canadian that brought us here" When he heard this, he gave the kid an odd look. "You protected the pharaohs... hmph. Perhaps there is something to trust about you after all." This the duelist took as a compliment, so he smirked. "Ehr thanks." But his joy did not last long. "But, what about the troops, and the invasion?" He clenched his fist. "We could not win. They used the seal to cut my men off. I survived the onslaught only because of my steed."He had the fastest horse in the kingdom. "What about the others? Christine and Colin?" Nero asked.

They were still alive. "That ass priest left us!" Colin fumed, they had escaped in a different direction. "I thought you did not like him anyway?" Christine said. "Still, we could use his help. Who knows when those soldiers come back looking for us." Right now the pyramid area was vacated, every demon had moved on to the city. "Maybe, but." Rose looked up, and saw the unusual energy pattern above the pyramid. "The portal for the soldiers must be inside. Maybe we can shut it down?" Colin cringed. "What, go inside? There!?" He was understandably against that suggestion. "We have to do something about all those troops. If even more arrive, we will lose for sure." She got up. "I am going, you can stay here if you want." And ran to the front gate. "Gah, why does everybody want to be a hero?" But just at that time, in the area of the palace, a roar erupted. "_Uh oh. I know that scream._" Colin looked behind him, and he saw Uria the red sacred beast. "_Uhm.. on second thought. Inside the pyramid sounds good._ Wait up!"

Illya's LP: 300 Carters LP: 8000

"This can not be!" Will looked up at Uria's empowered form (5000/0). "Angel O7 is still on my field. I tributed summoned it, you should not be able to activate any monster effects!" And yet Uria had increased her attackpoints by the five continuous traps in her cemetery. "Idiot!" She cackled. "Uria's determined power is a continuous effect, your cutesy fairy can only stop trigger and ignition effects!" The demoness laughed out loud at his mistake. "No..." Uria released a bolt of flames which devoured the effectnegating Angel, inflicting 2500 damage. "Trap scream is an effect that you could have stopped, but its too late for that now!" O7's death released the second mouth of the beast. "Let me tell you something, brother. Eidos fell because he became too human, he became too 'Andre'. But I shall not ever become 'Venice' again." She started fusing her body with that of the beast, sinking into its red scales. "She chose this power, and became me!" The girl was gone, the machine was gone, the demon remained. _"And yet, I can not.."_

Carters LP: 5500

Uria's arrival was also seen by the many villagers rounded up in the garden. Jackson was captured earlier and placed there as well. "Uhn." In fact it was what woke him up, after Glyph had so roughly knocked him down. "Where are we?" All he could see were villagers, panicked villagers. Crying children, angry workers, restless soldiers, everyone in the town was here. He tried to understand what they were saying, but his head hurt too much. Something was going on to distract them from their own misery. So he looked into the same direction, and saw the duel between William and Illya. The crimson assassin just had killed one of his angels. "Oh no." Will needed his help, she had already summoned the flame demon. But there were to many soldiers around, and he could not take them all by himself. "_Wait, I am not alone_" A voice spoke to Lucifer Doe. "_Whats wrong, Byakko?" _It was the tiger spirit that called out to him. "_I have been thinking, and I have a plan now. It should work, since this world is not bound by body_."

Lucifers eyes widened, as a sharp pain shot through his neck. "Ah?" Then in a flash that shocked the crowd around him, something came from his neck. A light slithered from his body, dropped to the ground, and took a separate shape. "_I see_." The shape became that of a tiger, the monster form of the Temperance Symbol. "Yes, as I figured" Byakko growled, as he felt the soft grass under his paws. "We are determined by our souls, the Personae." He glanced back at Jacksons main body. "One against many may not be prudent, however 21 against many." Lucifers lip curled as he finished the sentence. "Now thats fair play." The same pain came, as Jackson began to split into even more forms..more arcana symbols. "Attack!" They charged the many soldiers that guarded the villagers, they never saw it coming.

Unfortunately for Xifos, he came back just as Doe started dividing. "What is he doing now?" Jackson had split himself into 21 separate forms, each representing a symbol. "Better yet, how is he doing this?" Beasts, angels, knights and demons charge and slay the many soldiers. "_If he keeps this up, the people will run loose. Illya was supposed to prevent uprisings like these_." He glanced to the left and saw Uria, opposing the duelist William. "_But she is distracted as usual. That was one feat Eidos could at least do better_..." He grunted and started his demonic transformation. "Its up to Raviel then.." His armor was shed, and the blue Sacred Beast cast its shadow over the garden. In the distance, Carter witnessed this metamorphosis. It was not easy to miss the Phantasm Lord. "The people!" He gasped. "Eheheehe." He returned to face his own demoness however, when it released an inhuman cackle. "Pay attention to your current killer!" Her turn was done, but she had apparently placed a card facedown.

The virus no longer haunted the field, it could be a trap again. He drew a card, Invicil. "This..is an angel type. Thanks to Tethys, I can draw again." But he could not do anything with his monsters, he switched them all to defense mode. "Ha! Think again!" However, Illya chained with her continuous trap card: Final Attack Orders. "You can not defend against me, you can not block this power, gyahahaha!" Tethys and the Archfiend returned to an offensive position. "I will not let you finish it that easily, Illya! I sacrifice the demon soldier for Sky Scourge Invicil." A winged fairy whose hair covered half his face showed up (2200/1600). "When a fiend is tributed for its tribute summon, It can negate the effects of all your trap cards!" Final Attack orders was sealed off. "So what? Your monsters are still in attack mode!" She hissed. "Thats what I have this for!" Next he played the field spell, Sanctuary in the Sky. "Tethys and Invicil are both angels. And with this field active, you cant inflict damage to my lifepoints when you kill an angel." He stated.

"So what? I can still kill them!" She screamed, and when her turn came, she lowered Uria's head and swallowed the sky devil. "And also I can still kill you!" Now she could play traps again. So another trap card was placed down, and his turn once again came up. He was about to draw. "_Even if I draw and place a trap down, she will just destroy it with Trap Scream_." So he was hoping for something good. "Draw!" He looked at it and smiled. "To special summon this card I remove three fiends, and one fairy (Mefist, Prometheus, Archfiend Soldier and Angel 07). I special summon Norleras!" A horned sky demon nearly joined Tethys. He could pay 1000 LP to send all cards on the field to the graveyard, which included her sacred beast of course. "One sky scourge wont work, and the other wont either!!" However she flipped her trap card, Solemn Judgment. "Oh no!" She payed half her lifepoints to negate the special summoning of Norleras. "You are repetetive, William Carter, lazy!" He was running out of options... and monsters.

Illya's LP: 150

In her turn she blew away the last monster on his field, killing Tethys. Once again the Sanctuary safeguarded his lifepoints, but it would lose its power over the field if he ran out of fairies. "Where is your hatred now, gyahahaha!" Carter looked back at her, and she saw that his once hatefilled expression was gone. "Geheh, whats with that face?" It looked more like a fearful expression. "Dont tell me you are scared, scared of our power? That was too easy.." Uria lowered its back, and something squirmed its way through the demons neck. "!!?" It was Venice once more, coming out to talk like she did with Jackson. "Maybe this will help? Showing you the face of a weaker being." The halfdead girl smiled. "No way..thats whats left of her?" She looked nothing like Andre did when he took a human form. It was as if she had lost her mind in every sense. "I thought you wanted to know for sure, that she was dead? I find that pretentious of you, hypocritical! You are willing to kill her, and yet you want to save your brother!"

"But rest assured, she is no more, buried under all this power. You want to know why?" He was not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. "Because, unlike Eidos, I was not forced upon her. Like Edgar, she chose this power, accepting her own weakness. She wanted to be me, she wanted to die!" The demoness laughed, and ended her turn. She didn't bother to place a trap down. "So you are saying that.." Will entered his turn. "She wanted to betray us, for power? I can not accept that." He shook his head. "I know Venice, she was kind, gentle and innocent. She would not make such a drastic decision on her own." The Venice/Uria spawn merely grinned. "Believe what you will, you stand before the endresult. And you can not blame us." Carter sighed. "I am sorry then. I can not revive that hatred I felt earlier. But I still wont give up on her, I will avenge her." He then removed three angels and one fiend in his graveyard from play(Gellen Duo, Tethys, Inivicil & Black Hole Summoner), and special summoned his last Scourge: Enrise(2400/1500).

"That again?" It was the same card he used against another sacred beast, Hamon. "You tried that before, against a dear old sibling. Yet.." Before he could feel any remote shred of confidence, she shatterd his hopes with the discarding of the Charm of the Fallen Martyr from her hand, negating Enrise's powers. "We have the same answer, over and over. You will not take this power away from us, we will cherish it beyond your funeral, gyahahahaha!" And in her turn, she activated a spell card. "Eternal Reverse!" It was an equipment card, which would protect Uria from death in battle. Not only that, but. "Once per turn, this spell can switch a card on the field facedown." She used it on the field spell Sanctuary in the Sky, switching it facedown. "Trap Scream!" Naturally she followed with Uria's ignition effect, opening her second mouth to shatter the card. "Take this!" Now he would have to take the damage, as she burned Enrise to black ashes. However at this time, Carter was no longer responsive. "Lost your nerve, eh?"

Williams LP: 2900

_Eternal Reverse, Equip Spell  
Once per turn, select 1 face-up spell or trap card on your opponent's side of the field and place it face-down. The card that was set by this effect cannot be activated during this turn. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, this card is destroyed instead._

His anger was gone completely, and so was his fear. "........" He stared back at her, at the dying girl strapped on a demons body. He could no longer hear the words that came from her mouth, everything went quiet. Yet in this silence, a second voice broke through. It was as if, like Uria, Venice had two mouths to talk through, even though he could only see one. There was only one sentence that came into him, it was the unmistakable soft tone that Illya had smothered with her rage. "Take it." A light flashed behind him, he turned around to see its source. There lied a pedestal, there were two open spots, and one sword remaining. The blade was placed in the center of the pedestal, in the middle of a round shrine, surrounded by water. "This is." He remembered this place, only from the stories that Christine and Colin had given. This was Atlantis, birthplace of the Sacred Beasts, but also the three dragons. "It is ...my turn?" He wasted no time, and pulled out the last weapon. It started to glow in his hand. "Yeessss."

Another burst of light took him back to the real world. "Whats wrong, do something already!" Uria growled, as Will snapped from his trance. To her it looked as if nothing had happened, just like before when Christine drew Hermos and Colin gained Critias. "What?" He reminded himself of the vision, and quickly drew his next card. It gave of a brilliant blue light. "Hsss!" Venice had to shield her eyes. "Huh?" Xifos/Raviel interrupted his schedule of stomping on Personae, as he witnessed the same flare. "Carter!" All the Jacksons said in unison. The clouds in the sky opened to absorb all this light, and something shot downwards at the duel field. When the shine went down, he was no longer standing on the grass. Instead he flew in mid-air, seated on a blue dragon. "Illya, Uria...Venice. Meet someone that can help us... this is Timaeus." Illya could not believe it. "Claw of Timeaus: the third of the three dragon cards from Atlantis. But unlike the sacred beasts, their powers come from good. And now I am going to finish this.."

(To be continued in Testament 087: Your Name)

**New Cards used by William Carter**  
Sky Scourge - Invicil_  
The Eye of Timaeus_(+)

**New Cards used by Illya**_  
Eternal Reverse_(++)

-  
Solemn Judgment

(+) Based on the dragon cards from YGO Season 4  
(++) Based on the spell used by Dark Johan/Jesse in YGO GX Season 3


	87. Testament 087: Your Name

Testament 087: Your Name

"Gah!" Cleo gasped for air, as she was released from her unusual prison. "That bastard!" The last thing she remembered was that Glyph tossed her into his own sarcophagus and sealed the lid. What she did not know was that soldiers carried her elsewhere. "Tsch, where the hell am I?" She looked around and saw nothing but murals with hieroglyphs. "Would you like an answer, or do you want to make a guess?" And she was not alone. Orichalcos soldiers surrounded her, and someone else was here. "Not you again." Justine came from the shadows. "Affraid so. But don't worry, I have other duties right now. After I fix Eidos, maybe we can play again." She smiled wickedly. "In any case, you're back at the palace." Caine flinched. "Yes, we conquered it. Quite easily even. Though apparently we still need to find that one special person, which is why you are here." She turned her back on the girl, and soldiers stepped behind her. "Please don't try to escape. You can't get yourself killed before we secure your soul." She then faded from sight. "Great.."

Illya's LP: 150 Carters LP: 2900

Uria stared straight at the dragon that carried William. "Tsch, where do they all come from?" She growled. "Maybe you cant understand that..Atlantians had duel monsters too. I mean your form is proof of that." Will explained. "Eye of Timaeus, Claw of Hermos, Fang of Critias: these are the three swords." He then took the last card in his hand. "And like them, this one can merge with other cards to form a new beast. Timaeus has the power of automatic regular fusion. I integrate, Splendid Venus!" He chose his eight-star angel, and merged it with the blue dragon. A shining light overcame the field, it only stopped when the new being took a physical form. "ArchDragoon Venus." The endresult was an an angelic knight, riding the blue dragon as if it were its divine stallion (2800/2800). "Hsss thats all?" Uria merely scoffed at its presence. "Nope. Venus's normal effect weakens all nonangels by 500 points. But now that she combined with Timaeus, she weakens your monster by 1000 for every angel in my grave."

_ArchDragoon VENUS, 8/2800/2800 Light/Fairy/Fusion  
[The Eye of Timaeus] + [Splendid Venus]  
All non-fairy-type monsters lose 1000 ATK or 1000 DEF for every fairy-type monster card in your graveyard. The activation and effect of Monster, Spell and Trap Cards you control cannot be negated._

There were three in the cemetery, so Uria lost 3000 points (2000/0) "No, you touched my power!!" She cursed. "But you can not kill it. Uria is equiped with the spell Eternal Reverse. It will stop my death!" Illya cackled. "That may be so.. however." The dragonriding angel raised its sword. "The damage will allow me to vanquish you, the spirit. You only have 150 lifepoints left, Illya." Venus then launched forward. "This is it." She threw her edged sword and impaled the sacred beasts neck. "You wrecthed!" And her equipment spell could not block the lifepoint reduction. "No, NO!" The halfdead Venice-form was forced out of the collapsing beast, the red beast faded into smoke. "This is for everyone you hurt in the name of your sacred power, this will end the miserable seal on your soul and release you, Venice!" Timaeus and Venus then cut through the assassin. "Argh!" She lost her form. "You, you!" And at the last second, her expression changed. "You are...a true friend." She smiled one last time, and then never again.

Illya's LP: 0

All that remained of the girl, was one card that flirted with the winds. It winded up in Wills hand, the last testament to her kindness. "What!" Raviel/Xifos felt the demise of Uria, another demon god had fallen. "Accursed dragons!" He crushed Jacksons tiger Byakko under his feet, and turned attention to William. By now only three of Jacksons Personae remained: Arahabaki, Orpheus and Lucifer. "Blast, he is too strong." Though they managed to take down half of the normal soldiers, their progress stopped with Raviel. "You killed her!" He shouted at Carter. "Like you care, Edgar. To you she was no more then an accomplice in murder." He spat, as the dragonknight angel aimed its blade at the Phantasm Lord. "Edgar no longer exists, Venice joined in this fate. Your friend was already dead, she was with Tum'aga!" He charged as well. "You did not know her!" And he began to yell back, as the two headed for a great clash. Fist and sword were about to meet, when a third voice broke into the battlefield. "Xifos, leave him!"

"This one is mine." It was glyph, looking as aged as always. "Glyph? But.." Raviel halted its claws. "No, you would not win. You can see that. I shall take on this intruder." He smirked and started to float upwards. "Is he...doing?" William however could not understand how this was helpful, the vampire looked a lot weaker then a demon assassin did. "_I cant sense any of the millenium items on him." _Jackson felt the same way. "Is he fighting without a temple's Ka?" Xifos seemed to obey, and reverted to his smaller cyborg form. He landed near the corpse of Uria. "Good. Well then, come closer..William." He had a nasty grin on his face. "After all, I hurt your brother." Will flinched, and felt a spark of his old anger resurface. "I do not know what you are getting at, but taking you down is the best path to end all this mess." He started to sweat, as he made a choice. "No don't!" He chose offense, and dove straight down on the man, with Timaeus armed to the teeth. "Heh. For this fight, I will use my personal Ka." And he remained smug right up until..

He summoned 'it'

A pentagram revealed itself beneath his feet, and a giants hand came from the seal. "That is!" It was a hand chained to the ground, it grabbed the dragons neck before it could even reach Glyph. "Thats right..our Ka!" His face flashed for a second, revealing an inhuman demonic glare. "Exodia!" Then another hand came from the ground, and finally the body. "He has the forbidden priest as his Ka?" The citizens gasped. "Thats not possible, that power was sealed in five corners around the kingdom. He could not have freed Exodia!" The Egyptians were very familiar with the haunting powers of the invincible monster. "I will give you a taste of a Ka that I spent ages to complete." The second hand gathered energy. "No!" Carter could not get away. "Genocide Flame!" The ultimate mage unleashed a torrent of flames, which began to devour the flesh of the dragon. It then exploded and the blast sent William into the air. He was knocked unconscious from its massive aura alone. "Nothing can stand against Exodia, not even the three swords, hahaha!"

And that dreadful instant was shared by everyone. When Exodia was summoned, Christine, Nero, Cleo and Jackson all felt a sharp piercing pain in their minds. Their distress was noticed by those around them. "What is wrong now?" Ankhaten grunted as Nero reached for his head. "Its..nothing." He lied, trying to keep the children calm. "_This energy, its similar to_." He could not quite place it, but he could almost taste it. "I need to go out for a while. I have to see what is going on." He told Ankhaten. "Just see to it that you do not get followed back here if you manage to return at all." He sneered. "Hey, somebody!" Meanwhile Cleo Caine still sitting in her coffin had the same feeling, and she too failed to realize the connection. "What the hell is going on out there?" Too bad for her, nobody answered.

Timaeus was slain, and the summoner had nothing to stand on. "No!" Arahabaki flew into the air as soon as he saw that William was in trouble. Lucifer followed him. "You can not help him, I will do this!" They were too late to rescue him from the strike, but the fallen angel could at least catch him in mid-air, before he would fall to the ground. "What about Orpheus?" The claydoll asked him. The two symbols looked back, it appeared that Orpheus Doe could not take flight. "I can take care of myself, just take him to a safe place where he can recover." The Fools symbol yelled after them, unable to follow. "Find the others!" Was the last thing he said, before they were out of hearing range. Next thing they knew, he was surrounded again. "We will come back." Lucifer swore and they flew into the distance.

"Hey!" Xifos screamed at Glyph, who simply watched this whole heroic ordeal. "Are you just going to let them get away?" The street mage gave him a quick glance. "Of course. How else will we track them down." He chuckled. "There are still rats hiding out there. One of them has the last item: The Rod. But the other.." He dismissed Exodia, and dropped to the ground. "The heir. I need to find him. Both queen and king are gone, and the sun will set in less then ten hours. By that time I must be the next owner of the gods. So.." He placed his hand on the cybrgs shoulder. "If you feel any need to avenge the shameful defeat of Illya, then follow them. But do not let them notice you." He obeyed again, and flew into the distance without a word. "Good, as for the rest of you." He barked at the villagers and the soldiers at the same time. "Calm down..please." Even with half the guard gone, they were no match for the armored demons. "Good, maybe I wont kill you after all." He walked back to the palace, and spoke to a soldier. "Bring me to Cleo."

Christine was still breathing heavily, as she felt the presence of Exodia the worst. She and Colin had succesfully infiltrated the pyramid, and there were no soldiers in their way. That was until they found the portal room again, which was flooded with incoming Orichalcos Men. Yet that was the time in which she received the pain, and she had to rest for a while. It was a miracle nobody heard her. "So what was it? This feeling?" Sairve had not felt a thing, yet even he could feel that she was in agony. "This energy. It cant be real, they said he was gone for good." She said while panting. "Wait, don't go so fast. Who is he?" The fortune teller asked. "I saw the same nightmares I had when .." She gulped. "I don't... I felt Jacobs essence...Jacob.." Colin reacted appropriately. "Dont say its so." That was just the one person they did not want to see. "I sensed it, I sensed his evil. I wish I could be wrong, but.." Neither wanted to deal with him again, not after he had been vanquished twice already. "Tsch, if he is alive, where is he?"

"How many hosts does h.." The seer silenced himself, when he realized that Rose was once a host of him too. "Oh, ehr, sorry I." But she got up and ignored the fluke of words. "Its okay. We dont have to concern ourselves with him, not right now." She pulled a card from her dueldisk. "Right now we have to stop this inflow of demons." Sairve smirked. "I concur." He also drew a card. Next thing the army knew, two monsters came in through the door and charged their energy. Kyle Baxter and Fusilier combined their firepower. "Take this!" Only to have it deflected by an unseen wall. "Hey, thats cheap!" Instantly all remaining soldiers turned their glowing eyes on the intruders. "Oh crap." They focused their energy, and summoned a pack of monsters. They were hulking chained giants, each had the mark of Orichalcos on their forehead.

"Damn, you mean real-time business do you?" Fusilier fired its cannons again, and it could at least hit them. "I forecast a quick death!" The gigas was mowed down by his heavy fire. And yet. "Hey!" They regenrated their damage, and grew even taller. "Let me try." Rose summoned Guy-Lin and he ran his fist straight through one of the titans. It fell, but got up just as quickly. "What gives?" In return the demons growled, punded their chest, and killed both the Drunken Warrior and the Tank in one blow. "Okay then, how about a spell card: Star of Oblivion!" He activated the star magic, summoning a rain of stars that hit the army from the hole behind. Yet this too failed to take the damned things down, they kept healing their wounds. "Whats with these freaks, it's like they have infinite recursion abilities."

As Lucifer/Arahabaki Doe flew over the city. "Jackson?" They came across someone who they did not expect. "Nero?" He flew closer to the ground, to meet the duelist. "What are you doing here?" He asked him. "I was hiding in a building, and I left to look for others. But what's happened, why is William. And why are you..and you.." He saw that Carter looked less then optimal, and that there were now two Doe's. "He had a run-in with Glyph. But now is not the time to be discussing this. Who else is at the hideout?" He said quickly. "Ankhaten and the children. They're still safe. But I dont know where everyone else is." He sighed. "Well then, take us there. We can rest William in that place, and then we can say what happened." Nero nodded. "I will lead the way." And the the two headed north towards the river. Little did they know that this kind of encounter was exactly what the dark one had been waiting for. "Nero..." Xifos said to himself, as he watched the pair go towards their hideout, hidden in an empty house. "Found you.."

(To be continued in Testament 88: Wherever we Are)


	88. Testament 088: Wherever we are

Testament 088: Wherever we are

Justine was still working on the bodies of Eidos and Illya in the real world. One had shorted out due to wounds sustained in the Memory World, the other was completely offline. "_No fixing this girl_." That was when she received a message from the memory plane. "_Xifos?" _She opened the channel. "Xifos reporting: The runners are found, they are at sector 7 from grid B." The cyborg called in immediately after he spotted Nero and Jackson talking. "So whats the status of the other two units?" And now referred to his partners. "Good news and bad, I am affraid." She smiled none the less. "For reasons beyond scientific approach, I can not reload the mind of Illya. Whatever happened between her and Timaeus, the soul is gone for good." Science could not explain that Venice's spirit was released into the actual afterlife. "And Eidos?" Xifos grunted. "Oh he will be up and about in a second, transmitting his spirit as we speak. It was a simple task of modifying his brain, so dont worry..he wont be distracted by any human tendencies." She shut down the link, and sent Eidos back to the memory world. "_Of course, I also wish I could tell...why some data is missing from his body. Specifically he deleted the knowledge of the heirs true identity_."

Still in the real world, Cable Fraser woke up from his duel-induced slumber. "No, Anima!" Only to find Anima nowhere inside the museum. "Where did ...he go? Why did.." He had left the stone tablet in one piece too, depsite his earlier intentions. "Oh!" Then he remembered that nobody was guarding the unconscious bodies of the others right now. So he raced down the stairs into the cellar to check up on them. But as he moved around something else took him by surprise. A bright light shone in through the window near the ceiling. _"Has that always been there?" _He asked himself, and went to inspect the light through a more convenient window. "_My word..." _He found the source, it was the zeppelin hanging in the air. A strange light came from there and travelled across the city. It caused all Hazmat suits to collapse. "What is she doing?" He was not aware that this was the effect of Justine's home-made portal device, which forcibly moved the spirits of the Orichalcos soldiers into the Memory World. He could do nothing about that.

But the duelists at the other end could. "Gah, stop that!" Colin and Christine were trying to block the inflow inside the pyramid, but their enemies kept undoing the damage they inflicted. They had summoned some sort of duel spirit that refused to die. "We are losing this. Maybe we should retreat before they get pissed." The soldiers and their monsters started to get close, too close. "No, we can not withdraw. We can not." Rose insisted as she drew her next card. "Huh?" It was not one that she expected to find. Colin drew the same type of card. "Hey hey." They gave off a red and purple glow. "Isn't this?" The soldiers giants raised their fists. "When did this return?" They each knew what kind of card gave this feeling. "I thought he said we could not use these, because the Egyptians dont remember it." Colin rasped. "And mine was supposed to be wounded anyway." But Rose looked at a card that definitely said: The Claw of Hermos, and grinned. "We wont know until we try." So she invoked it. "Difficult to see what will happen either way." So did he.

"The dragons, thats impossible!" Ankhaten snorted as he listened to the story of Jackson. He and Nero had returned to the library and Doe was immediately interrogated by the priest. "They sunk to the bottom of the sea, along with their condemned city." But the symbolist was not free yet. "What else happened?" So he continued his story, and made it sound even more unbelievable. "Exodia!?" Just like the villagers, the royal house was just as terrified of that forbidden power. "That also can not be true, the first pharaoh sealed it." Raness protested. "It is true, the ..Atlantian has regathered it." Lucifer said with a grim tone. "But that power is..what Jacob used to." Suddenly Nero understood why he felt such a familiar fear an hour ago. A part of his inner evil survived within Glyph? "I know what you are thinking, I felt it too." The claydoll said. The fact that it talked was weirding the children out even more. "But if what you say is true, then all the priests have fallen already...and even the lord." He cursed, he refused to accept that the king could be.. gone.

"We have to mount a counter-offensive." He fumed. "No we need to wait, we have to find the others and.." Lucifer flinched. "Oh ..No!..Hide!!!" At that moment, the walls were blown open by an outside assailant. "!!!" Ankhaten quickly managed to hide the children and the wounded Carter into a compartment of the storage room. "Found you!" A familiar voice echoed throughout the building, as Xifos floated through the hole in the wall. "Edgar!" Nero gasped. "Stop saying that" Then through the doors, came another. "You realize, the doors still work." It was Eidos, much to the dismay of the Canadians. "Feh, this place is a ruin now anyway." Xifos landed on the floor, and was joined by his yellow companion. "No, Andre, what happened to you?" Nero was happy to see that he was still alive, but shocked to see that he was back to aiding the enemy. "Andre? Who is that...my name is Eidos. Human." And when he spoke again, they realized. "No, they did not." He had forgotten it all. "You lost your humanity again." Arahabaki said with a saddened tone.

"Enough talking. Reveal where the heir is, and you may live to see Glyphs ascension." Xifos grunted. "Never!" Ankhaten raised his millenium rod. "Oh, was so hoping that that would be your answer. You know what the alternative is going to be. For you and the one that killed Illya." Xifos laughed as he started his sacred transformation. Transforming into the Phantasm Lord Raviel right before their eyes. "Andre dont do it, this is not you!" Nero pleaded with Eidos before he too engaged his demonic metamorphosis. "Its no use begging, I am on a mission!" He did it anyway, and changed into Hamon to join his sacred companion. "Ugh them again." Ankhaten remembered the sight well, even though he had not seen Hamon up close yet. "Those are." Senes whispered, as she stared from their hiding spot in awe. "The sacred demon gods." Raness cringed, and clenched his fists. "A.." Senes even had to cover her little brothers mouths to stop him from screaming. "Metru calm down, please. They can win this."

But the priest and the duelists were not too sure. Numbers did not mean much anymore."You, you did this to him!" Lucifer Jackson rasped at Raviel. "You brainwashed him again, Edgar." The blue demon twitched. ""That man does not exist anymore. Remember that already!" He started to crackle with energy. "Its no use, ready your Ka." Ankhaten used the rod, he summoned the Godbeast King Barbaros with it. "Hmph, its pointless that rod will be ours soon as well." Hamon scoffed, as it raised its claws. "Damn it." Nero and the Jacksons readied as well. The Hero duelist fusion summoned E-Hero Plasma Viceman for the battle. While Arahabaki and Lucifer gathered all the energy they could find. "Come!" This was the best they could do, they never stood a chance against two sacred beasts.

Arahabaki supported the E-hero with magic from the sidelines, while it tried to strike down Hamon from multiple angles. "Pathetic." At the same time, Barbaros struggled to macth Raviel in physical combat. "Fall damn you!" While Lucifer did it best to deflect any blasts that he fired. "Not yet, not yet!" For a while it seemed as if it would all go well. But it took only a minute for everything to fall into despair. "You are a nuisance. Be gone." Hamon counter-attacked and with one fell swipe it cut Arabaki in half. "No!" This pained Lucifer as well, as he was part of the Persona collective. "Bingo." This momentary pain was enough to let Raviel get in a free hit, which knocked it against the walls. "Thats two down." Jackson was unconscious, Ankhaten and Nero were the sole defenders. "Not even worth any energy, but lets finish this quickly." And they fired a blast that quickly decimated their monsters. The force pushed them to the ground, and the two demons surrounded them. "You were never a match. This is insulting, give us the heir!" Raviel snorted.

Ankhaten struggled to stand up. "No, I will not hand him over. Even if I am the last priest standing, I will continue to uphold the honor of the kingdom!" He summoned another Ka, Black Luster Soldier but that was squished just as swiftly. "No, you.." Nero tried to summon something as well, but Hamon used his wings to create a severe gust that slammed him against the walls, knocking him out. "Tsch." Ankhaten tried once again, but not matter how many spirits he summoned, they were all taken down, and he lost more stamina with each hit. He slumped to his knees at last. "Finally!" Raviel kicked him casually, and the impact drove him against the wall, causing him to drop his millenium item. "We need some still conscious, Xifos. For interrogation." Hamon growled. "Ease down, I am sure that we did not kill everyone. First." He reverted back to smaller cyborg form. "I will take his staff." He walked to the rod, but then suddenly. "Dont touch it!" Raness came out of nowhere. "No, brother!" Metru screamed, while Senes was to stunned to react.

Their brother had seen enough. "I will not stand by and watch you kill our priest!" He raised the weapon. "And who are you?" Xifos asked with a chuckle. "The son of the Lord!" If Hamon and Xifos would still have human eyes, they would have stretched with amazement right about now. "Oh really?" He wasted no more time with words. "I will show everyone that I can fight as well. Ka from the temple, come to me!" He attempted to use the rod of the fallen Ankhaten to summon his own spirit. However it never even got that far. Hamon placed his claw in the way of the summoning line. "!!!" And crushed the beast before it could materialize. "Dont even try." The boy growled. "You wont get away with this!" He cursed, and charged Xifos. "Hm?" He revealed that there was a dagger hidden inside the Rod, and he aimed to stab Xifos with it. "Ha!" He actually did hit him, but only because Xifos did not see the point in dodging. The blade got stuck in his black armor, yet did not penetrate deep enough. "Hmm, it did not break?"

"Thank you for this." He quickly pulled the staff out of his hand, and snatched the son by the throat. "So this is what Glyph wants." He tossed him aside, slamming him against the wall. He was knocked out as well. "Eheh, now that he is found, the others can be killed." He moved towards Nero. "Revenge at last." He pulled out the rods dagger as well, it would be very poetic to stab him to death with it. At that time Eidos reverted to his humansized form as well. "I'd hold it off, If I were you. Glyph might want the honor himself. I will report to him." He opened a communication line. "Tsch, killjoy."

Back at the palace, Cleo finally found out why she was spared. "Tsch, is this what you called me to do_." _She stood before Glyph and a dozen soldiers. "Well you were the one that was so eager to spill your secrets. Miracle worker. You should feel happy that I remain interested in you at all." The vampire smirked. The two stood in front of a long line of crying, sobbing or screaming egyptians, between the ages of ten and eight-teen. "You have seen the heir, any one of these could be him. Its simple to disguise yourself as an ordinary villager, but that wont fool us, will it?" One soldier shoved a kid up front. "So tell me if I get warmer or colder." Caine grinded her teeth. "Dont you have machines to do this for you?" But he was still smiling. "Dont play hard ball, I already said that I do not trust technology. I will see the answer in your eyes, you arent a good liar after all." Grunting she followed his commands, she looked at the first kid, who looked nothing like Raness. "Feh..colder." Glyphs grin grew even wider. "Excellent. Next!"

One soldier picked up the child and carried him away, the next followed. But eventually after some questioning, Eidos's news covered the distance. "Sir, agent Eidos and agent Xifos have apprehended the target." The nearest soldier informed Glyph of their discovery. "Oh is that true now? " He bared as many of his teeth as possible, because this made him very happy. "Thats good news, isnt it my dear?" He shared his wicked smile with Cleo, who wanted to look away in disgust. "Well tell them to bring him over here. My patience has run its course, now I will finally ascend!"

(To be continued in Testament 089: Hopeless)


	89. Testament 089: Hopeless

Testament 089: Hopeless

Colin and Christine had summoned the dragons to deal with the enemies inside the pyramid. The titan spirits were crushed beneath the dragons large claws. However.. "Dont tell me they still live." Colin looked and saw their fingers twitching. "We need to take care of the real-time duelists I think. If this is a duel, then we have to knock their lifeforce down to zero." This gave Christine an idea. "Hermos!" The dragon stared back at her. "Combine with this card: Kyle Baxter!" The Atlantian seemed to agree, and it reverted to energy, merging with theh sniper. It turned into an equipment card. "Oh, you fuse a direct attacker to make a direct attacking weapon?" It was a rifle-like gun made from dragon scales and claws. "I call this the DragonClaw Sniper." But then Colin pulled out a card of his own. "Hey, Christine, equipt it to my dragon. I foresee a good plan." She did so, mounting the rifle on the arm of Critias. "Now, Critias, integrate with my trap card: Ojama Trio!" And as the dragon did, it split into three different-colored dragon.

One was brownish yellow, one was darkgreen and the third was black. "Guess what! Each comes equiped with the same Rifle!" The integration had divided the spell as well. "Take this, a triple snipe attack!" The two shouted, as the three Critia fired their Hermos guns, using its direct attack abilities. This allowed them to pierce the shield that protected the Soldiers and hit them. "Hahaha!" The blasts tore down the demons with ease, without their field to protect them, they could not fend it off. "Guess we win this duel." At the same time their summoned beasts faded into the ground. "And now for that portal!" They took aim at the gateway before it could allow even more soldiers to pass through. "Are we sure though, we could ruin any chance of getting back." Christine asked him. "I don't think we want to use a portal that leads to any place where they come from." He was determined and unleashed another salvo. The gunfire travelled into the gate, overloading it with energy. Now a lot of incoming soldiers had nowhere to go anymore.

"Hmm, that cant be a good result actually..." It started to rumble, and gave off wild sparks of electricity. "Its gonna blow, we'd better run!" The two unsealed the current forms of their dragons, and mounted them. Critias and Hermos flew away from the room, through the hole made by Hamon last night. They soared into the sky, when the chamber exploded from the surplus of blocked energy. "Guess the passengers made it a bit crowded and the gateway imploded." Sairve gloated as he watched the ravage. "But they will notice this, wont they?" Rose looked around, concerned with sudden attacks. "Let them come, we have our dragons back. Ol' Wrinkleface will be delighted to see these." But just then a strange pain jarred their senses. "What?" It was like the presence of another struck them, and even their dragons were dismayed by the feeling. "Bad aura here." He turned his eyes to a large building east of the palace. "Something really awful is happening there. Thats what Hermos is saying." Rose moaned.

"We dont need these people anymore." Glyph snapped his fingers. "What are you doing?" Cleo hissed, as the people were pushed back again. The Orichalcos troopers forced them all in the garden, men, woman or child. "I don't need them, thats what I said. My loyal minions found the Heir to the throne, so these are not the people I should look after." He looked up. "Justine, I know you can hear me. Dispense with the fools, rid my world of their noise." As if on cue, the loathesome Loveless appeared behind them, having inserted another one of her hologhraphic avatars into the memory world. "You called." She had in her hand a strange remote. "I know just the thing." And she pressed an odd button on it, and then the light came "No, its.." A circle of green light surrounded the citizens, the seal appeared beneath their feet.

The soldiers that surrounded it invoked the Orichalcum magic to drain their souls all at once. The villagers collapsed and their sounds were silenced. "_Damn_." Orpheus Doe was still in the middle of the crowd as their souls were sucked from their bodies. However for some odd reason, he was unaffected by the spell. "This isnt .." But he realized he was still being watched, so he faked it. Jackson fell along with the others. "Good. Thats done with. Tell Xifos and Eidos to take the heir to the altar, where the millenium items are sent as well. And make sure they dont waste time.." Glyph then held Cleo against her. "And as for my miracle worker. I am granting you a privelege." One of the soldiers summoned a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "To see my ascension up close." He cackled and mounted the dragon, forcing her to join as well. "I will see you there." Justine teleported away already. "We shall." Orpheus could only watch them leave, flying towards the pyramid_. "Where are they heading?" _He thought as he kept one eye open.

Back at the Library, Eidos's scanner picked up something. "Xifos, we have an incoming energy signature." Xifos still held the Rods dagger up high, aimed at Nero. "Huh, whats that?" Xifos was to occupied with his victory to notice. "Its the same energy that took down Illya." But that got his attention. "The dragons?" He saw Carters unconscious body in the corner. "Not Timaeus, its must be Hermos or Critias." He also realized that Raness had to be transported to the Palace quickly, the kid was waking up already. "Well your highness, you are coming along for the ride." He grabbed him. "Unhand me!" No feat of shouting or strength could free him from the iron grip. "Stop." Nero also woke up in time to protest. But neither he, nor Ankhaten and Jackson were in no condition to stop them. "Sorry. Will kill you another time, probably when Glyph ascends." He turned around. "Lets go Eidos." And the two assassins flew out of the building, taking the Heir with them. "Ggh, no.. I ...failed." It was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.

Critias and Hermos also witnessed this from afar, though they did not understand what had happened yet. "Its Edgar and.." All they observed were the two assassins leaving a building left in ruins. "Andre? He is alive again? But who are they taking with..oh no" As much as Colin wanted to follow the two with his revived dragon, he and Christine felt that someone else needed them first. "Down below." Hermos nudged its head to the building, and they dove down. Once they landed inside, entering through the hole that Xifos created, they were met with groans of pain and gasps of dismay. They were dumbstruck. "What happened?" They saw Nero, Ankhaten, and two Jacksons lying on the floor. They also saw the two children of the Pharaoh in the corner, but Raness was missing. "Its as I feared.." They did not even need to hear, but a frightened Metru told them anyway. "They took him." He sobbed. "Damn it!" Colin cursed. "Nero, Jackson, are you allright?" Christine meanwhile looked after the wounded. They were to exhausted to even move, let alone talk.

Not everyone was silenced though. "Hey guys, whats going on?" Carter shook his head as he got up from the pavement. "You're here too?" Christine was slightly relieved. "The angel brought him, but we didnt know that he was awake." Senes told them. "Well I was asleep yeah, but a loud roar woke me up." He then saw that Critias and Hermos were inside the archive. "Oh, hey, you guys have them back!" And he saw the two cards in his own hand, one glowed a feint blue color. "Wait, wait.." And before he knew it, the third showed up behind him, Timaeus took form. And he was greeted with almost overjoyed sounding roars from its brethren. "This is Timaeus, he is the last of three." The others stared at it in amazement. "..how?" Colin could not believe it. "Venice showed me, at least..the good one. I had to save her from Illya. But I.." He looked at the other card in her hand, it was a blank monster card with a foggy color. "All she left was this." Colin took it. "Huh. Wonder why she wanted to give you this thing.."

But when he touched it, a quick image flashed through his mind. "Whoa, what was that?" Nobody else seemed to notice. "Guys?" They had more urgent things to take care off. "Oh right, William, we can not wait. They have Raness." Christine said with an urgent tone. "They what? Aw man." He flinched and saw the severity of the others wounds. "Wait I have an idea. We need everyone so.." He pulled out a third card. "Use this, Aegis of Gaia! Its a healing trap card so it should restore their lifeforce." However, he did not know how to activate it. "A trap you say? In that case.." Sairve had an idea though. "Critias, integrate that trap!" He yelled, and the dragon absorbed the card, gaining a greenish radiance. "Whats it doing?" Senes asked. "Thats the power of the Atlantian dragons, they can fuse with other cards. In my case, it will fuse with his trap and gain the power of Gaia's healing." The brilliant dragon spread his wings and released several soothing gusts of wind with it. Flares of white mana floated down upon the priest, claydoll, angel and duelist, curing their wounds. They also immediately found the energy needed to stand up again. "Lord Raness!" Ankhaten was the first to cry out. "My rod, where is it! And where is the kings son?!"

One short but painful story later. "Ggh, they took him, we failed." Nero rasped. "But it seems we have help to redeem that error." Arahabaki saw that they were surrounded by dragons and friends. "By the gods, the three swords in the flesh. You were telling the truth." The priests eyes were wider then they had ever been. "But how can Canadians wield Atlantian power?" He asked. "Thats a long story, we will tell you later. For now we need you to stay here and guard the kids. We will go after Glyph and find the.." However he raised his voice to interject. "No, my duty lies with the palace. I must save him, even if I can't summon any more Ka." He yelled. "But then, one of us will have to guard the kids. Do you trust us now?" Nero asked in return. "I suppose." He grunted. "Excellent, I will stay with them." The claydoll said. Now go quickly, before the ritual starts or the sun sets. Next thing he knew, he was on top of the blue dragon, sitting behind William. Jackson could fly on his own, and Nero went with Hermos and Rose.

"Here we come then, Glyph. We will settle it once and for all."

Raness was escorted to the altar on top of the pyramid. Xifos and Eidos both prevented his escape. The shrine was built there to get the best view of the kingdom, for when he would succeed the throne and inherit the gods. "You won't get away with this insolence." He struggled up until the arrival of Justine, Cleo and Glyph. "Ah so you are the one." He entered the scene with the same wide grin, and dismissed the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. "The heir to the old man, the oldest of his offspring." He gloated. "Dont you dare call him an old man! He is .." He snapped at him, but Xifos punched him in the gut to knock the wind out of him. "Temper temper, my boy. He certainly is hotheaded, isnt he?" He nodded at the Goth that he still held next to him. "Like you, almost." Cleo merely responded with a growl. "In any case, My Lord. You will be happy to know that you do not need to worship that old man any longer. He is gone, and so is everyone else." Raness gasped. "Yes, they are dead, this is the day of inheritance."

He then pointed behind the kid. "Behold, all six items layed out in a circle around the sacrificial coffin, and your fathers corpse is already inside." All he needed to add was the Millenium Rod which Eidos was holding on to. "As the dusk comes, and the pyramid grows its shadow over the city, the gods will demand a new host. They will give their names to he who has the blood and spirit of the royal line. If there hasnt been a reaction to their call before the sun has gone down behind the pyramid, the kingdom will sink into darkness for a whole year. So we need a new host, but.." He grabbed the boy's hair and pulled him up. "It wont be you, it will be me. Soon I shall drink you." He licked his lips. Everything was set, all he needed to do was wait...just two more hours. However his joy was not indestructible. "What the?" Xifos noticed them first, then Eidos did as well, and soon the vampire saw the three at last. "No." Critias, Hermos and Timaeus flew over the kingdom. "Those kids again..those dragons again!"

"Justine, put up some defenses. Do not let them get near here!" Glyph told the woman, and she merely nodded. "Sure, sure." She tapped her remote again, and the soldiers on the walls focused their glaring eyes on the children that came their way. But there werent that many left "Hmm, thats odd. I thought I had arranged for more security. Oh that's right." She slapped her forehead in mock-fashion. "The brats damaged the portal." Apparently she found it amusing enough for a short cackle. "What, and how is that funny?" The vampire growled. "And why did you let them live!" He asked Xifos next. "Bah. They had wounds they should not have survived. How they managed to stand up again is a mystery." The dragons got closer and closer. "No, I will not, I will not let them take away my immortality! I will not let them!"

(To be Continued in Testament 090: Showdown at the Altar)


	90. Testament 090: Showdown at the Altar

Testament 090: Showdown at the Altar

"They're not there!" The heroes narrowed in on the palace, riding on their atlantian dragons. "The palace is abandoned!" Lucifer shouted. "What do you mean?" Nero yelled back. "We saw it, Glyph left with Cleo, he headed there." The angel pointed at the altar on top of the pyramid. "Hey how can you tell?" He asked him. "I told myself." He flew down into the garden, where he met with Orpheus. "Oh right, he split himself." Carter said casually. "I was wondering when somebody would explain to me why there were two of him.. and three now." Colin said to himself. "And whats with all that sand?" The garden meanwhile was littered with desert sand, as if a storm had blown over the place. The duelists knew what was going on though, the same thing had happaned to Taurt and Osirid. "Ehr. Never mind that." Rose said quickly, as she did not want to find out what would happen if Ankhaten knew that those were his people. "The altar on the pyramids top, then..lets go together." The two Symbols shook hands, and in a bright flash they were reduced to one Jackson. "And its getting more confusing every second." Sairve sighed. "Enough time is wasted, lets go to the temple!" The priest grunted. And the three dragons flew to the west.

"Ghh, those rotten.." Glyph saw them coming, but there was little he could do about. "These soldiers better delay them, now as for you your highness." He tried to grab Raness. "Sir!" But Critias, Hermos and Timaeus were already in range of the pyramid. "Get those out of our way!" They released a triple burst of flames that scorched some of the soldiers to ashes, before they could summon their duel monsters. "He prepared a lot of them for us, ey?" Yet most survived and called out all sorts of creatures; headless centaurs, winged demons and those regenerating giants they used earlier. "I guess here is where the true fun begins." They too readied their cards to counter the wave of Orichalcos creatures. The villains watched from the altar as the battle unfolded, it seemed like the soldiers could not resist them for long. "Xifos if you please." He gestured at his cyborg companion. "The pleasure is all yours." He gave Cleo over to Eidos, and flew into the sky. "Hey William! Lets finish what was interrupted!"

He shouted as he targeted Timaeus. Carter saw him coming, but the assassin went too fast for his dragon to follow. "Crap!" Xifos slammed straight into the beast, causing it to roar in pain. Timaeus backed over, Ankhaten jumped off in time to a higher spot, but Will was flung into a very deep descent. "Aargh." Thankfully at the last second, Critias showed up and caught the falling duelist. "Thanks Colin." He coughed. "Meh, think nothing of it. I knew you were going to fall." He said with a smug expression. "Tsch." Of course Cleo did not want to sit around all the time. She looked at Raness, and saw that he was too shocked to even move. "_Figures.. its up to me_." She found that Eidos's grip was looser then that of Xifos, so she got an idea. "Hey Andre." The cyborg flinched "Think fast! " Before he knew it, she had wrestle one hand free and snatched the staff from his arms. "And catch!" She tossed it at the priest below, hoping that he could use it. "No! We need that!" Glyph cursed, as Ankhaten saw the incoming rod and was about to catch it.

But then out of nowhere came another pair of eager hands, Justine's. "Thanks."

"What?" The Kartel mistress had teleported right in front of him, snatching the millenium item before he could. "Ha! You should not have bothered, Cleo." The street mage laughed at the goth, her ploy had been foiled and Eidos had already recaptured her. "Now hand it back to me." He stretched out his hand. Yet for some reason she shook her head. "Naughty, naughty. You should ask nicely." She flicker her finger. "Dont play games with me now woman. Tum'aga commanded you to obey me." He grunted. "Yes, but they also said that I had to keep you in line. And I am making a decision.." She said as she toyed with the staff. "I think I will keep this. Lets see how this develops" She teleported from sight. "Meddlesome woman. I should have expected it." Glyph grumbled. The female ended up on the other side of the town. "Damn! If that isnt returned, neither person will inherit the gods." Jackson gasped. "Thats bad I assume." Rose turned Hermos around. "Well then we should follow her, she can not exit this world with it." Nero nodded. "Leave it to me!" He summoned Shining Flare Wingman and jumped on its back. "But how will you find her?" They wondered. "Leave that to me as well." He blasted away, chasing Loveless.

Meanwhile Xifos had taken to stalking Critias. "This guy won't stop." Colin landed the dragon on the side of the pyramid, away from any soldiers. "What are you doing?" William asked as the seer got off his own beast, at the same time Timaeus returned to his master and picked him up once more. "I am going to take this fellow down a peg." He dismissed Critias. "Someone has to do it." He summoned a dueldisk, and a full set of cards. Then the cybernetic Edgar crashed down in front of him, damaging the floor. "Not running?" He asked with a mechanical sneer. "Nope, just curious how much of a man is still inside that body of yours." He rasped. "What did you say?" He clenched his fists "The last time you dueled someone one on one, you had to call in help. And after that you relied on Raviel all the time. I am just not sure if you can duel at all." This seemed to be the last straw. "You dare!" Xifos produced his own mechanical dueldisk. "Lets see what happens when you meet your friend Ned in hell, maybe he can answer it for you!"

Xifos's LP: 8000 Colins LP: 8000

Both players shuffled their decks and placed it into the disk, then they started drawing. "Good." The villain drew Raviel in his first turn already. "You get the first turn." He felt generous enough now "This wont take long anyway." So Colin drew six cards. "Why does everyone end up making predictions when I am the only official seer here." He sulked and summoned a Hunted Agent(2200/1200) in attack mode, and then he ended his turn. "Idiot!" However its negative effect activated. "When you summon Hunted Agent, the opponent can summon a monster from his hand, remember!" He summoned a Chaos Soldier (2000/1500). "You just made it ten times easier to summon the sacred power! Behold the latest fiend: Skyblaster!" He called out the gunner demon, Phantom Skyblaster(1100/800). "When its is summoned it can create as many tokens as there are monster cards on its field." There were two monsters, so two Skyblaster-tokens (500/500) showed between the gunner and the soldier. "Crap, three sacrifices already.."

Colins LP: 7100

"Not yet, first some pain." The gunner opened its turrets. "His effect is to inflict 300 damage to you, for every Skyblaster monster present." There were three, so his fiends fired three shots at the seer. "Thats nothing." He claimed. "Agreed. This is everything though. Here it comes." Then he sacrificed the tokens and the Chaos Soldier, three fiends for his Sacred Beast. "Raviel!!!" Raviel(4000/4000) towered over the field, surprising everyone currently present. "Colin!" Jackson yelled, but he could not help him. "This is the ultimate power, feel it!" Xifos then merged with Raviel, sinking into its blue skin and armor. "Feel! It!" It flattened the Hunted Agent with ease. Colin took another hit to his LP. "How about it, feeling your doom now?" The demon roared. . "Hmmm...nope." The seer however did not look worried

Colins LP: 5300

"Hmm?" Xifos could do nothing else in his turn, so he ended his turn. "It was worth it, to face two monsters at once. Because now.." He drew a card "I can flush you out...with heat. I sacrifice two of your monsters top special summon Lava Golem to your side of the field!" He removed the opponents Skyblaster and Raviel for the Molten Demon (3000/2500). "That card?!" Xifos was no longer in his mighty demon self, instead he was locked inside a cage hung around the Golems neck. "You wretched, you dare to sacrifice a god?" He struggled to break out, to no avail. "I see no god." He then played the spell card, Level Limit Area B, to seal the attack mode of the Lava fiend, and any other monster above the fourth level. "I see a sad human behind two cages. And one cage will hurt you every turn." He ended his turn again.

"Curse you." Then the Lava started to rain down on the assassin, taking a thousand of his lifeforce down. "You think that as a seer, you can see through this power? Think harder!" He summoned a Phantom of Chaos (0/0). "That card again?" He integrated the grave-bound Raviel into it, absorbing its attack defense and effects (4000/4000). "That is a level 4, it can not attack through the Level Limit, and it can not inflict damage." Colin said to him. "It isn't about the stats, idiot! It is about the effect.." The Phantom had also gained Raviels ability to kill a monster for more strength, so it absorbed the Lava Golem (7000/4000). At the same time, Xifos was freed from his fiery cage. "You insulted the power of Raviel, of Tumaga. Dragon or no dragon, this duel will end you!" He placed a trap and ended his turn. "A pity though, your spell card hinders any attacks..for now. But that also includes your cards" And in his endphase, Phantom of Chaos lost its powers (0/0). "Well, only attacks from level 4 or higher monsters."

Xifos's LP: 7000

"Which this one.." He normal, not special, summoned a Gilasaur (1400/400). "Is not. Your Phantom is helpless." He sent his dinosaur to chow down on the weakened Phantom (0/0). "I wont let you summon another Raviel!" He yelled. "Then you shall fail in your desire!" Yet he triggered his trap. "Chaos Form!" Suddenly the Chaos demon twisted its black formless body, moving into defense and taking a new shape. "What?" The Gilsaurs claws broke against the thick hide of the ghostly Chaos Soldier (2000/1500). "Chaos Form is similar in powers. Its equiped to another monster on the field, giving it the stats of a monster in the grave, permanently. In this case, a Chaos Soldier." Phantom of Chaos gained 2000 attack points. Luckily a Chaos Phantom could still not inflict lifepoint damage (nor could a Chaos Soldier). "Draw." But now it was his turn. "Summon the level 1 monster card, Grave Squirmer (0/0)" He called out a small mummy-like creature. "Whats that going to do?" Colin grunted. "Hey you are the seer, you tell me!" He attacked with it.

_Chaos Form, Continuous Trap  
After activation, this card is used to equip a face-up monster. When the equiped monster is targeted for an attack, switch it to face-up defense mode. Afterwards you can select one monster from your graveyard. For the rest of the game, the equiped monsters attack and defense points become the same as the selected monsters_

It was a level 1 card, so it could bypass Level Limit Area "!!!" Naturally the dinosaur fought back and swallowed it whole. "Thanks." But its wrappings came to life. "When a Grave Squirmer dies, a card on the field goes with it!" Colin gasped as his continuous spell was removed by the wrappings. "And now there is nothing you can hide behind. Chaos Phantom still has the powerboost from Chaos Form!" The phantomized soldier lashed out and killed Gilasaur at last. Once again Sairve suffered no damage. "By the by, the second Raviel card is already in this hand. Could you see that at least? Did not think so." He chuckled. "Why would I care about a false power like that?" He sighed and summoned a new monster, one that resembled a Baron. "Murderous Aristocrat (1550/800). This cards power depends on the level of those it does battle with, if its lower, I can kill it." He explained. "What? But our monsters are of equal level!" The assassin protested. "Well maybe, maybe not. Demotion!" Then he equiped the opposing Chaos monster with a spell that took away two of its stars. "Now your Phantom is a 2nd level card. So.." The aristocrat used his haunted sword to remove its target from its sight, reducing it to blood and ashes.

Xifos's LP: 5600

_Murderous Aristocrat, 4/1550/800 Dark/Fiend  
When this monster battles a monster of a lower level, destroy the opposing monster before damage calculation._

"So you managed to stop one demon with a level trick, thats not a big deal!" He grunted as he drew his card. "Actually I thought it was, beating you with 'Demotion' and all." He snickered. "Shut up, you wont be laughing after this!" He activated Devils Sanctuary, creating a devil-token (0/0). Then he summoned another Phantom Skyblaster (1100/800). "What, aw not again." Colin sulked, as the Gunner created two more of its tokens (500/500), and released another salvo of 300-shots. "Your tactics are getting old." He coughed. "Who cares, they work dont they?" Finally, he sacrificed all three tokens for the last card in his hand: the second Raviel. "Back to the beginning, Colin." The blue demon overshadowed the side of the pyramid once more (4000/4000). "And this time you wont have a Lava Golem to help you out!"

Colins LP: 4400

Meanwhile at the other side of the city, Nero finally caught up to Justine. "What the?" And she was inside the palace again, sitting on the throne as if it was hers. "Oh hello Jacobus." Even when she saw him, she did not move. "Why are you hiding here?" He asked as he dismissed his E-hero. "If I could teleport all the time, I would do so ..trust me. Alas I used up too much energy, and I need 30 minutes to recharge." She showed a strange meter on her remote. "So instead of running, I came out to have a little fun for myself." She then transformed the remote into a dueldisk. "Because I know you want this." With her free hand she stroked the rod. "You do realize that this world will collapse if that isnt returned. The ritual.." Nero said. "I know, and I dont care much. As far as I am concerned, everyone in this world can fall into darkness...even Glyph." After all, all the things she cared about (herself, her cyborgs), could easily be pulled out of the Memory World. "So, if you want to live..duel.." He had no choice, he had to fight her.

(To be continued in Testament 091: Rejected Grave)

**New Cards used by Colin**_  
Murderous Aristocrat_

-  
Level Limit Area B

**New Cards used by Xifos**  
Phantom Skyblaster  
Grave Squirmer

-_  
Chaos Form_ (+)

(+) Based on the Trap used by Marcel in YGO GX Season 3


	91. Testament 091: Rejected Grave

Testament 091: Rejected Grave

Nero's LP: 8000 Justine's LP: 8000

Nero stood face to face with Justine, he needed to beat her to get back the Millenium Rod. "You can go first, if you like." The woman smiled, as she drew five cards. "How generous." Nero drew six cards, and eyed Loveless carefully. "Oh come now, there is no trick behind every act of kindness. Please, continue." She said with a suspicious tone. "..I summon Neo-Spacian Hummingbird(800/600)." A red humanlike bird would be his first Neo-Spacian. "This card gives me 500 lifepoints for every card in my hand" She had five cards, so he gained 2500. "I see my reputation preceeds me, you want to gain as much life as possible, before it comes." He also placed a trap and ended. "Oh, my turn?" Justine drew again "Come out, Reficule the Fallen One." Already she summoned her trademark card.

Nero's LP: 10500

the devils nurse (1400/600), complete with scythed wings and mummified body. "I guess your dear friend, Rose, told you all about her powers. She reverses all lifepoint gains, like your Hummingbirds effect. Attack it my Fallen One." Reficule flew into the air and released a wave of energy from her wings. A spiritual scythe cut through his bird, inflicting 600 damage. "Trap card! Neo-Signal!!" But he then activated his trap, which reacted to the monsters demise, and special summoned a Neo-Spacian from his deck. "Another Bird?" She glared as he had called out a second Hummingbird(800/600). "I dont see the point, with 'her' on the field. Ah well." She placed three trap cards facedown. "Yeah that is a lot isn't it? Your girlfriend lost so quickly too, she didnt even see half of my strategy." She laughed, and ended her turn.

Nero's LP: 9900

But before he could draw, she opened one of the three traps, a permanent trap. "Eye of Truth! From now on I can see all cards in your hand." Nero's cards became see-through. "If a spell is among them, you gain 1000 LP. But.." Nero had in his hand five cards (Stratos, Contact out, Graceful Charity, Neo-Spacia Gift and Compensation for Heroics), including some spells. "Thanks to Reficule, you lose lifepoints instead." He lost 1000 LP. "And now the life reversal begins." He cursed. "In that case, what I have to do..." He then placed the three spells facedown. "..is that." He grinned. "Well you got me there. The Eye can not see spells if they are facedown" She replied dryly. "And whats to keep me from simply killing your monster? 1400 attackpoints are easy to overpower!" He said as he summoned Stratos(1800/400). He used its effect to add E-hero Prisma to his hand. "I attack Reficule!" The aerial hero released his own windblast. "Ho-hum, I chain." She flipped her remaining trap cards: Gift Card and Brutal Potion

Nero's LP: 8900

Chains and shackles were attached to the unholy nurse, this was the Brutal Potion card. And at the same time the Gift Card trap gave Nero 3000 LP, or rather it took 3000 lifepoints away. "The nurse needs her potion. This equip trap has an effect: when the enemy loses lifepoints, she gains attackpoints." Reficule(2400/600) used her chains to counter the windblast and kill Stratos. "Ggh, an equipment trap that empowers.." He did not expect that. "1000 to be exact. Though it drops again at the endphase." The fallen one (1400/600) retreated. "Damn." And Nero placed a trap card facedown, keeping the Neo-Spacian in defense mode. " Let me guess, thats Compensation for Heroics, isnt it?" He gave no response. "Well it has to be, I saw it in your hand. No use hiding it. I can just as well strike." Reficule raised her wings. "Compensation!" At which point Jacobus flipped his trap, ending her battle phase, and allowing her to draw a card for every monster on his field. "Fond of the little life booster aren't you?" The Hummingbird was safe for now. "Why would you bother with the Neo-Spacian though, it will only hurt you from now on." She drew and placed two cards facedown. "I need it." He said. "Well it is your turn."

Nero's LP: 5300

"Oh and be careful with what you draw. I see everything. If I see a spell, the Eye of Truth will take 1000 LP again." He drew and got a monster. "Lucky. I discard this monster card: Neo-Spacian pathfinder. This in turn allows me to add Neo-Space to my hand." He activated this field spell as well, sending both players to the luminous Neo dimension. "And now!" He summoned E-Hero Prisma, the crystal warrior (1700/1100). "Not so fast!" But she activated the continuous trap: Dark Cure. "Every time you summon a monster, you will gain life, equal to half its attack." Nero lost half of the 1700 points. "Oops, make that, lose life." She laughed even harder, and Reficule gained another Brutal power-up (2400/600). "Are you done? Good..Allow me to explain the Prismatic effect. This Hero can take the form of any other fusion material, as long as I declare the fusion monster." He revealed a random Neos fusion. "E-hero Neos is a part of this fusion so I send 'it' to the grave." Prisma had become E-Hero Neos in name only. "Contact Fusion." He combined the Air spacian with the fake Neos, into E-hero Air Neos(2500/200). This summon cost him 1250 lifepoints due to the cure, but..his power (5700/2000) shot upwards. "What is happening?"

Nero's LP: 3200

Back at the temple, Xifos the cyborg had summoned his demon god in his duel against Colin. He remerged with Raviel. "Go to hell!" One punch later and Colins monster, Murderous Aristocrat, was sent to the grave. "You lose, Colin!" He received 2450 damage. "Hey dont write me off yet. Especially if.." He crossed his fingers, and closed his eyes when he drew his card. Then he peeked at it. "I have this!" He revealed the Fang of Critias-card. "That again? Illya's wound must have worn off." Xifos grunted. "You know you should at least call her by her true name, now that she is gone." He said. "True name? You mean Venice...bah! She was better off as a cyborg, as was Edgar. Just look at this body. this godly power. Edgar could never have felt this alive, nor could he have lived that long. Especially not once Tumaga has their way with the weaklings of this world." He roared. "Tsch, to me it sounds a little different. It sounds more like you're just trying to make up for that one time that 'Jacob' beat you. I guess that made you feel pretty weak."

Xifos's LP: 5600 Colins LP: 1950

Raviels left eye twitched. "Hrggh, at least Edgar didnt die of a heartattack like that Arcana witch. That alone proves the fragile nature of mankind!" When he said this, Colin suddenly gained a grave expression on his face. "Ananka." He whispered. "You know, even after she left us.. she helped us. Which is more then I can say for you." He placed a trap card down. "Oh, and what was it she did?" Raviel smirked. "She gave me this card." He played the Fang of Critias. "She did now?" He fused the black dragon with the trap card: Negate Attack. "I summon the Dark Negation Dragon (2800/2600) in attack mode!" Critias finally took form, descending from the sky itself. Though it hardly looked changed from its base form. "Kill Phantom Skyblaster!" He shouted and the dragon swiped right through the token generating demon which was left in an offensive position. "Again, Who cares? If this is the best you can make with the card she gave you, then she is as useless as the soul of dear little Venice! It can not hope to stand against Raviel!"

Xifos's LP: 3900

_Dark Negation Dragon, 8/2800/2600 Light/Dragon/Fusion  
Negate Attack + Fang of Critias  
When your opponent's monster declares an attack, once during the game you can negate that monsters attack.  
Afterwards increase this cards attackpoints by half of the attackpoints of the attacking monster. _

He will shatter the remnants of your whore's gift, with just one blow!!" Colin readied himself, as Raviel cracked its large knuckles. Then it unleashed one massive punch right at Critias. "Negate it!" But at that time, the dragon opened its wings, revealing a silver coating on the inside of them. "Huh?" A wormhole opened in the middle of the wing. "The dragon can negate your attack, and absorb it!" It absorbed a part of Raviels hand. "Gah!" He pulled it back out, still intact. However energy was drained from it, and added to the silver panels. "Half of that punch will go into Critias's attackpoints (4800/2600)." He smirked. "Heh. This does mean that you admit to needing his strength to win!" Xifos rasped. "Perhaps, but I only got this power because you did not know how to use it." He drew a card, and placed it in facedown defense mode. "And now I will take you down once and for all. Before you can infect more people with talk of demonic powers!" His dragon then channeled the power from the wings into a second vortex, the exit. "Die!"

A blast came from the wormhole, and it got very close to Raviel, it looked like he would certainly be destroyed. "Feh, did you forget already?" But then he discarded a card from his hand. "We assassins have these still?" It was a Fallen Martyr Charm. "No!" Colin cursed as his blast was deflected by the Charm. "You missed!" Colin could not believe it, not even an Atlantian Dragon could get passed those confounded charms. "It looks like this is the end for you. Not even your precious dragons could help you." Colin looked at his hand, all he had left was Fusilier Dragon and Dora of Fate. The perfect combo to end a duel, except Raviel was two stars too high. "Damn it.. set trap card, End turn." He hoped this one trap would hold Raviel back, as his dragon could not stop the beast twice. "Feh, that power is a bust. Edgar was wrong about the girl. If Illya could not survive a dragons attack, then she must have been weak in both forms, eheheh." Sairve flinched. "What did you say?" The demon drew a card and bared its teeth. "Oh, nobody told you?"

"Or has nobody figured it out yet that the one who convinced Venice to become Illya, is standing before you. Hehahah!" Sairve flinched. "You conviced Venice to become a machine?" Raviel glared at him. "You catch on quickly. It was Edgar yes, they both gave their consent to change. But in the end only Raviels power stands!" He entered his battle phase. "Now watch as it destroys your legendary card, it can not negate this fist twice!" He roared. " I do not need too, it is already stronger then your beast." The seer pointed out its attack again. "So what? Did you forget its effect again, it was used before! Raviel can kill others to strengthen himself!" He normal summoned a second Chaos Soldier (2000/1500). "Oh crap." And crushed it in his claws, to absorb its energy (6000/4000). "Now die, Critias, die forever!" With ony great swing of his arm, the demon god had pulverized the negating dragon, tearing it down one wing at a time. Timaeus and Hermos felt the pain of their brother, and so did their riders. "Colin!" Christine shouted.

Colins LP: 750

"Rose, stay focused on your enemies, this one is still mine." Colin yelled at her. "oh..kay." Reluctantly she flew Timaeus in another direction, as Raviel glared at her. "She will be the next to fall." He turned back to the seer. "Anyway...Now what Colin? You lost your best card. You couldn't beat Simone without it, you definitely cant beat...hey." Raviel continued to gloat, until suddenly. "What is... not again!" He was forced back into his smaller body, Raviel was gone. He did this so quickly. "Yes again, I tributed your demon for one of my golems." The diviner smirked. "Thats not possible! Your golems need two tributes!" He protested. "Look closer, fool." Xifos stared at the demon in front of him, it was not made of lava, but of cosmic matter. "Its called Starlight Golem(3000/2500). And it only needs one sacrifice unlike its Lava and Torture brothers. But in return, all monsters on your field and in your hand gain two stars. And you can not sacrifice it." He finally had everything set up, his Dora of Fate trap card facedown, Fusilier in his hand.

_Starlight Golem, 8/3000/2500 __Light/Fiend _  
_This card cannot be normal summoned or set.  
This card can only be special summoned by tributing a level 7 or higher monster on your opponent's side of field and is special summoned to your opponent's side of the field.  
If you special summon this monster, you cannot normal summon or set a monster during the same turn.  
Increase the level of all other monsters on this card controller's field and in their hand by 2. This card can not be tributed for a tribute summon.  
_

He needed to wait for one more turn, and then he would have reduced his opponent to zero at last. "Even the greatest sacred power cant fight against a future that has not been seen by me." With that said, he ended his turn, and Xifos drew. "Stop kidding yourself. Anyone can see the future you see, its obvious! That trap of yours is Dora of fate, isnt it?" He sent the starlight demon to crush his facedown monster, Herald of Creation (1800/600). "Ah, but. If you can see the train coming at you, can you stop it?" He activated Dora of Fate, which responded to the eight stars on the golem. "Another joke. Who says you have to stop the train?" He placed a trap card facedown and ended his turn. "What are you talking about? If you dont stop it, you will get overrun!?" And before Colin could draw. "There is no need to try and stop it, Not if one can simply destroy the tracks!" the enemy flipped his trap. "Mind Crush! This is a penalty game that was given to Edgar, now its time to return the favor! 'I' declare 'fusilier'!"

This trap would discard any card from the opponents hand, if the player could name it. "No!" Colin gasped as Fusilier was tossed into the cemetery. "Eheh, you wasted your fate, you are too predictable!" The cyborg chuckled, leaving the seer dependant on his next draw. "_Fusilier is gone, what chance do I have? Even if I draw another lv7 monster I wont be able to summon it_!" However as he drew, a cold shiver ran down his spine. "Venice...Ananka?" He looked at the card, and blinked. "Now what, you cant possibly have drawn another Fusilier already, and Critias wont come back either." The enemy fumed. "I don't need either, it seems someone else wants to to predict your future." He revealed the card in his hand, a blue knight. "Thats..the Fog King!" Xifos gasped. "Indeed, its a 7star monster, just what I need to set off the Dora of Fate explosion." He placed it on the field. "You cant do that! It needs tributes!!" He shouted. "Not this card, King of Fog can be summoned with one or no sacrifice, in that case its attack is reduced to nothing." The icy paladin came to the field, keeping its sword sheathed (0/0). "Thats...how!" He was at his wits end now, he would take 4000 damage, he could not survive this. "No...don't do it!" It was too late.

Xifos's LP: 0

(To be continued in Testament 092: Salt on your Wounds)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
Elemental Hero Prisma  
Neo-Space Pathfinder  
Elemental Hero Air Neos

**New Cards used by Justine Loveless**  
Eye of Truth  
Brutal Potion  
Dark Cure

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve**_  
Starlight Golem_  
Fog King

**New Card used by Xifos**  
Mind Crush


	92. Testament 092: Salt on the Wounds

Testament 092: Salt on the Wounds

Justine's LP: 8000 Nero's LP: 3200

"Why is your monster so strong, hmm?" Justine looked at Nero's newest Contact Fusion: Air Neos. Its base power was only 2500, but he (7800/2500) was far stronger than that now. "It was you Justine, you did this for me. Air Neos gains attackpower equal to the difference between our lifepoints." Thanks to Reficule, the difference was a whopping 4800 points. "Plus the field Neo-space gives every Neos warrior 500 extra attackpoints." This would certainly be painful for her. "Go, Air Neos!" The aerial E-hero fired a burst of wind straight at Justine's monster. "Maybe this attack will... Wait.." But the wind dissipated before it reached Reficule. "Quikplay Spell card: Enemy Controller." A console controller appeared in front of her. "I can switch one monster of yours." She used the button combination that left Air Neos in defense mode. "You only bought yourself one turn, Justine. Its true that Neos Fusions usually go back to the deck during the endphase. But if Neo Space is on my field, they can stay indefinitely."

Nero ended his turn. "Oh and what if I do this?" She then activated the spell card: Soul Taker. Nero was shocked. "You understand why this is bad, I presume? This spell destroys one monster on your field, and pays you 1000 LP in return. Except, you know.." He would lose 1000 lifepoints because Reficule inverted all lifepoint increments. Plus he would lose and his only monster. "I wont give you the pleasure!" However he had a spell ready for such a threat. "Contact Out! I defuse Air Neos, removing your target from the field." Contact Out was the Neo version of Defusion, it could unfuse any Neos warrior. "I can also special summon the components from my deck." He returned Air Hummingbird(800/600) and E-Hero Neos(3000/2500), the latter gained a powerboost from Neo Space. "Oh, but my trap is still active." The permanent trap Dark Cure switched back on: the Neo-Spacian and Elemental had 3300 attackpoints combined, so he lost 1750 LP. "But you still lost points, so I can activate Brutal Potion once more.

Nero's LP: 1450

Her second trap reacted, the Brutal chains empowered Reficule (2400/600). "Hmm, I cant kill Neos, so.." She ordered the angel to slay the Hummingbird, Neos was still stronger by 100 points after all. "I place a card facedown and end my turn." It was Nero's draw phase, he drew a card, Neo-Spacian Glow Moss. "Oh you keep avoiding the all-seeing Eye of Truth." She mused. At that point, Nero flipped his facedown spell card. "Graceful Charity!" He drew three cards from his deck: Righteous Justice, Cocoon Party and Hero Signal. "I have to discard two cards from my hand." He threw away Glow Moss and Hero Signal, while he activated R-Righteous Justice. "Now I can destroy as many spells or traps as there are E-heroes on my field." He only had Neos, so he took out one: Dark Cure. "Interesting, what are you up too?" She asked. "Oh I just need that out of the way. So I could special summon without losing life." He played the spell card Cocoon Party. He could summon as many cocoons from his deck as there were Spacians in his grave.

There were two in his cemetery so called out two cocoons: Chrysalis Dolphin(400/600) and Chrysalis Mole (700/100). "When Neospace is the active field, the cocoons will break open right away." Both were sent away, replaced by the Spacians: Aqua Dolphin (600/800) and Grand Mole (900/300). "Then my final facedown spell: Space Gift. I can draw a card for every Neo-Spacian on my field." He drew two cards (E-hero Clayman & Alchemy Cycle). "Both elemental and spacian are on the field. This is my second Contact Fusion!" He combined Grand Mole with Neos, to fusion summon. "E-Hero Grand Neos(3000/2500)." An earthen warrior equiped with a drill. "His effect incorporates that of the mole, so once a turn he can send a monster back to the players hand during my main phase." He released a drill into the ground which bounced Reficule back into her hand. However before Reficule died she flipped her facedown spell card, Emergency Provisions. "I use this spell to remove Brutal Potion and gain 1000 LP."

Justine's LP: 9000

"..." Otherwise it would have destroyed itself as it lost its master. "Well, if I can continue..I activate the effect of Aqua Dolphin by discarding a card from my hand." He discarded Clayman. "Now I can look at one card in your hand, and if its weaker then another monster on my field (Grand Neos) it is destroyed!" And he of course selected Reficule, he knew where it was in her hand after she took it back. "Oh no." The first life that the woman lost was due to this. Reficule was sent to the grave. "And if I do discard something, you lose LP." The Dolphin hit her with 500 effect damage. "Your field is wide open, I attack you directly!" Grand Neos gave her a painful punch, which forced her off the pharaohs throne at last. "My my, such violence." She spat. Nero placed a trap card, ending his turn afterwards. "You ruined one of my business plans, but I have many other clauses that can resolve this delay." She summoned a fiend monster: Stray Asmodian (1300/1700). "Like this little demon. He will give us both 800 LP if its killed."

Justine's LP: 5500

" But without Reficule it wont do much harm." Nero replied. "True, true." So she sent the colorful fiend to kill the Aqua Dolphin instead. "I place two trap cards on my field, and end my turn." This move took all the cards in her hand, and that was exactly why it made Nero feel uncomfortable. "Draw." As soon as he had drawn, he realized why. "I activate my permanent trap card, Bad Reaction to Simochi! All lifepoint increments become negative, again. So it is like a trap version of Reficule's effect." She laughed softly. This meant that Eye of Truth would inflict 1000 damage if he had a spell in his hand. "Then its a good thing that my drawn card was not a spell." He revealed the trap: Neo-Spacia Road, and placed it facedown. "And Asmodian is not dangerous either, I will send him back to your hand with Grand Neos, and give you another direct attack." And he did exactly as he told her. "How one-track minded of you." Another drill pushed her defense back, while Grands normal hand punched her for 3000 damage.

Justine's LP: 2500

"Unfortunately you can not kill it for good, my Asmodian." The dolphin was already gone, there was no way to force a discard from her fingers.. "And the one closest to death is still you. Allthough..." She looked back at the pyramid. "I wonder how he is doing, with your and your friends. Perhaps he has killed one of them already. Not that it will make a difference." She tapped the rod beneath her feet. "They wont get this, Tum'aga is better off without Glyph. And I can simply reload the minds of the assassins, their souls dont matter to me." She smirked. "I already know that you are serious..but now I notice that you are also mad." He cursed. "I always am serious, you just dont expect it. But calling me mad, that will get you into trouble." She entered her turn. "I guess I had better not waste your time. Draw." She drew a trap card and placed it facedown "I resummon the Stray Asmodian(1300/1700). This time its destruction will not be pleasant." She ordered it to attack. "I wonder if you will understand your loss."

_"Gah, my monster is stronger, but I know she is attacking for other reasons. If I kill it, she will only lose 1700 LP. But I will lose 800 LP. If I draw a spell card next turn, it will be all over for me_." He did not think he had any other choice. "I activate Neo-Spacia Road. When you target a Neos-hero, I can negate the attack, and add a Neo-Spacian from my cemetery to my hand." He blocked the Stray Devil and sent the Glow Moss Spacian to his hand. "Tsk. You say you have a lot of business tricks, but I see the same trick over and over. You cant win every game with the same move." He claimed. "Can't I?" She ended her turn. "Well not if I can keep using the same countermeasure every time." He activated Grand Neos again. "But she flipped her last trap. "Go ahead, I dont mind, since it is dead." She smiled as she activated Ring of Life. "Say hello to the ring that destroyed your girlfriend." The ring attached itself to Grand Neos and blew up right as sent the Asmodian back to her hand. "Well thank you for entertaining me Nero.."

Nero's LP: 550 Justine's LP: 2500

"I had...huh?" She flinched when she saw the LP-count "How? The ring should have taken away 2500 lifepoints from you, and given me 2500 attackpoints!" Nero shook his head. "Not quite. Before he died I activated Alchemy Cycle. I thought you knew I had this card?" Loveless gasped. "That trap.. it reduces a monsters original attack to nothing. I did not consider that you could use such an effect like that." He nodded. "Yes, since Grand Neos had (0/2500) points, the ring gave both players 0 LP." However it still destroyed the card. "You better draw a monster then Nero. Stray Asmodian can still attack next turn." Yet he did not, he drew a spell, which she saw through the Eye of Truth. "Oho! A spell, now I can take away 1000 LP!" She cackled. Nero's life went down to 450. "Justine. Look at it." Yet he forced her to see that spell which nearly killed him. "Miracle Contact?" She blinked. "Yes see it as the Neo-version of Miracle Fusion. I can now do Contact Fusion with materials in the graveyard. A triple contact fusion."

"I choose Hummingbird, Aqua Dolphin and E-hero Neos." He performed combined water with wind. "But you sent your Neos back to the deck when you summoned Grand Neos." She protested. "No, I sent my second to the deck. The first I discarded when Prisma imitated Neos and was fused into Air Neos." The materials were shuffled back into his deck. "Fusion summon Storm Neos." As soon as his new monster hit the field(3000/2500), a storm started. "This card can wipe out all spells and traps." Neo Space, Eye of Truth and Simochi were removed from the field. "No, you broke my.. but my deck was tested against any imperfections, I should win this game." And then he entered the battle phase. "You have nothing left, Justine. No more tricks, clauses...this game is over." Storm Neos delivered one final punch to the schemer. "Well I cant say this pleases me.." Justine sighed as her in-world avatar began to decompose. "I guess I will have to take it out on the real world, Nero Jacobus. Pray that we don't find you real bodies.."

Justine's LP: 0

"I do.."

Xifos's LP: 0

At the other end, Colin had almost just as much luck with his opponent. "That card isn't in your deck!" Colin had summoned King Fog for his Dora of Fate-combo, inflicting 4000 damage to his enemy. "This isn't the real world, Edgar. And this is not the real you. This card was from Venice, she must have liked fog and clouds. She had a message for you, you have to return." The holograms faded, Xifos could not longer sense his connection to his Raviel. "No, the power...its all gone!" He screamed louder and louder. ".dont..want..to ...return." He reverted to Edgar even, shedding his cybernetic armor. He no longer moved.

"Tsch, he was useless after all." Glyph commented from the altar, still holding on to Raness. "Damn it." All around him, soldiers dropped to the ground. These kids were doing too well, even with one dragon occupied elsewhere. "This 'barrier' better hold." Nothing else was left between him and the atlantian dragons. "I guess you can prove your worth now." He tossed the heir aside, and moved to take Cleo from Eidos. "Go, and do not fail me like Xifos did." He growled at the yellow assassin. "..." Yet 'it only stared at the duelists, twitched, and back at his supposed master. "Well, what is wrong? Why aren't you'going out there?" The vampire coughed. "Do it!" Yet then Eidos released Cleo, and pushed her away from the two. "What?" And Eidos turned back to glare at the villain. "No...I won't listen to you..anymore."

Glyph did not believe what he was hearing. "Are you malfunctioning?" The vampire snorted. "You are my servant!" Eidos shook his head. "No, I am not. I remember again..who I really am." He stared into the sky, at Timaeus and its rider. "Andre?" Will blinked. "How, Justine said she got rid of that memory." Glyph cursed as he stepped back. "Before I died.. I managed to save my 'data' in a corner of my mind, one that not even she could find. But I couldn't access it, I was forced to obey you. But.." He looked at Colin this time. "I heard her, that girl who became Illya. I heard the voice of her soul, and when I did, something snapped, and now I am in control again." He moved his arm. "I am Andre Carter. I am not Eidos,, I am not yours!" He pointed at the villain. "Tsch, fine. Its all up to me then." He spat as he stepped inside the circle. "Get him!" Lucifer and the dragons charged forward. "Dont get cocky!" Yet they were pushed back by the unseen forcefield. "Huh?" Neither dragon nor priest could pass. "No, its the six items."

Ankhaten gasped, he understood what was going on. "They are repelling anyone that doesn't have an item, we can't get through anymore!." This was Glyphs final defense "Correct, none of you can stop me!" He cackled maniacally. "I can!" Andre said loudly, he was already inside the circle. "You? You want to stop me?" The smile did not leave his face. "I will stop you. Even as Eidos I did not trust you Glyph, and now I see I was right all along." He activated the disk on his arm. "Everyone stand back, I will deal with him. Even you brother." William moaned, but he couldn't do anything. "Eheh, this is rich. One last duel before godhood cant hurt." He summoned his deck from thin air, and kept them floating in front of him. "Lets duel then. Or as they say here in ancient times: Diara!"

(To be continued in Testament 093: Into a Mirror, Negatively)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
Chrysalis Dolphin  
Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin  
Elemental Hero Grand Neos  
Elemental Hero Storm Neos

-  
Contact Out  
Space Gift  
Miracle Contact

-  
Alchemy Cycle

**New Cards used by Justine Loveless**  
Stray Asmodian

-  
Soul Taker  
Emergency Provisions

-  
Bad Reaction to Simochi


	93. Testament 093: Into a Mirror, Negatively

Testament 093: Into a Mirror, Negatively

The Duel between the vampire Glyph and the cyborg Eidos had begun.

Glyphs LP: 8000 Andre's LP: 8000

"I place one card facedown." The old man started them off. "Next I summon Breaker, the Magical Warrior in attack mode." The magician swordsman showed up, gaining one spellcounter which boosted his strength (1900/1000). "Then I place one card facedown. Finally I activate Veil of Darkness! Now during every drawphase; if I draw a dark monster and discard it I can draw again." A shroud of shadows surrounded the player. "Wait that card is from.." Rose gasped. "From Jacob? Yes it is!" The street mage glared back at them. "He must have told you, that spirit received most of his cards from me. But it was me that gathered all the Exodia cards. Since he is now gone, I will reclaim that power. The Veil is but one card to speed the process of your defeat, Andre." He ended his turn. "That 'power' nearly killed me too." Will grunted. "I see. But I know how that power works, Glyph and I will let you draw all five pieces of Exodia.." The cyborg said as his turn started. "So many have said that before, robot."

"My first card will be the continuous spell: Crystal Tree. A tree made of gems planted itself on the pyramid "Every time one of my crystal beasts dies, it gains a counter." He then he normal summoned one of said beasts. "I summon Topaz Tiger (1600/1000)." The others were surprised to see that card again. "He still uses the same deck?" Since that was Eidos's trademark. "Topaz Tiger gains 400 attackpoints during the battle phase. I attack Breaker and destroy him!" The Tiger (2000/1000) roared and chewed the magical swordsman to pieces. The first hit was his. "Kheh..draw card." Glyph drew it, and immediately discarded it. "Its a dark monster, Destiny Hero Malicious, so I feed it to the veil." He drew another card instead. "This in turn allows me to special summon a second D-Hero Malicious (800/600) from my deck, if I remove the first one from play." Then he flipped a trap card. "Art of the Dark Spriti - Greed. I can sacrifice the second Malicious, to draw two cards. But this effect is blocked if you have a spell in your hand."

Glyphs LP: 7900

Eidos did not respond. "None in your hand?. Good." He drew two new cards, but neither was an Exodia piece. " Heh. I remove the second Malicious in my cemetery to summon a third (800/600). I also set a monster card facedown. And last but not least." He played a ritual spell. "Incandescent Ordeal. I can discard 7 stars from my hand, to special summon a 7star ritual monster." he discarded his Dark Magician to ritual summon the Legendary Lord of Flames(2400/2000). "Every time you or I play a spell, he gains a counter. When he gets three, all other monsters on the field will be destroyed. But for now physical violence will do.." The Flame Lord then destroyed the Topaz Tiger with his fumes, reducing it to a topaz crystal in Andre's spell/trap zone. At the same time a counter was added to his tree. "In case you had not gotten the hint yet, my style depends on both spell counters and quick draws.." He finished his turn. "Oh If he does not, I do.." Cleo hissed, thinking back to her duel with the possessed Stefan, who used the same style.

Andre's LP: 7200

Eidos then drew a card. "I summon Crystal Beast Sappgire Pegasus (1800/1200) in attack mode." The winged horse used its effect to place another cystal in the magic/trap-zone, he placed a Ruby Carbuncle. "And I set another card facedown. That is all." The others were worried, this was not a very good defense. ".." Glyph drew again, and discarded a dark monster (Necro Guardna) into the veil. "Bingo.." And his face revealed all his rotten teeth, when he had drawn that card at last. "I win." Everyone flinched. "What?" He summoned Gearfried, the Iron Knight (1800/1600). "Allow me to show you the ultimate combo." He also flipped his facedown monster face-up, it was the Royal Magical Library (0/2000). "This spellcaster card gains a counter for every used spell. I can remove two counters of it to draw a card. Now this may seem slow, but..." He then showed the equip spell in his hand. "That is!" It was the Elma card. "The infinite equipment spell. If its destroyed when equiped, it will come back to my hand. Gearfried destroys all his equipment upon contact. These two cards start an infinite loop, which will allow me to create infinite spell counters and draw my entire deck through the Library! In one turn I will get all of Exodia!"

"No, brother!" Carter panicked, the others throught he was a goner for sure. "Lets begin the sequence, eheheh!" Yet then a blast of lightning killed the Iron Knight. "Trap card, Crystal Raigeki." Eidos unveiled his facedown. "No!" He could sacrifice a Crystal Beast to destroy one card on his opponents field. He sacrificed the Ruby, which took down the Iron Knight. "Yes!" Without it, Glyph could not start the chain of draws, Elma was useless now. "Curse you!" He used it anyway, equiping it to the Lord of Flames instead (2700/2000). He also played the spell card, Magic Reflector, adding a shield-counter to his Veil of Darkness. Now it would survive destruction once. "Then I shall crush you one crystal at a time!" Royal Magical Library had two counters now, he could at least offer those for one more draw. "Very..slowly!" The other mage channeled fire into his staff, and released it upon the winged horse. From the smoke came a blue jewel, and a second counter was added to the Crystal Tree. "Gah, so many counters in this duel."

Andre's LP: 6300

Glyph still stared at Eidos, he was furious. "How did you stop the combo. You could not have prepared for it..." He ended his turn. "You forget, Glyph, I have access to Tum'aga files. I knew of your combo before the duel began." He drew again. "I am prepared to do anything to stop this. And I will end it now." Suddenly he destroyed his own Crystal Tree. "When I destroy the Tree, I can special summon as many crystals from my deck, as there were counters on the spell." There were two counters, so he special summoned the Cobalt and Amber cards in his magic and trap zone. "Next, I play this spell: Crystal Abundance" They all started to glow. "When I have four crystals, I can remove them all to destroy all cards on the field!" Glyph flinched, his two spellcasters, Malicious and the Butterfly Dagger were wiped out with one radiant burst. "And then, I can special summon crystal beasts from my grave, equal to the amount of cards that were destroyed." Four cards were destroyed. So he revived four of the five in his graveyard.

He revived the Tiger (1600/1000), Mammoth (1700/1600), Eagle (1400/800) and Pegasus (1800/1200). The latter allowed him to place another Crystal Beast in his MT-zone, he chose Emerald Tortoise this time. "And to complete my army, I normal summon the Amethyst Cat (1200/400)." Five colors filled his field: Dark Blue, Clear Blue, Yellow, Orange, and Purple. "Amazing! He has enough power to win the game." Jackson said. "This is it, Glyph, my last offense!" All five beasts surrounded the vampire, Glyph was left with nothing to defend himself. All he had left was his Veil of Darkness, which sacrificed its spellcounter to remain on the field. "You." Sapphire Pegasus pelted him with wind blasts, Amethyst Cat swiped her claws across his chest, Amber Mammoth slammed his tusks against him, and Cobalt Eagle scratched him with his talons. In the end he had less then two thousands left, and Topaz Tiger could still declare an attack. "He is going to win?!" Rose gasped, as the tiger charged (2000/1000). "You think I will die, to you?"

Glyphs: 1800

Yet Glyph froze the topaz beast in mid-strike. "What?" Glyph smirked and revealed a card in his grave. "Rerember this?" He showed Necro Guardna, which he discarded earlier for the Veil of Darkness. "I removed it from play to stop your last attack." The battle phase ended. "You can not kill me, Andre. I have lived for decades! I am this close to the perfect immortality, no more exhaustion, decay, no more feeding! Do you believe I will let one human stop me?" Eidos sighed. "One human will have too." He ended his turn. "Ggh he was so close." Will snapped his fingers. "Draw." Glyph looked at it. It was his favorite card: the Illusory Gentleman. "_Sorry my old habit, you will not come in handy right now_." He discarded it, and drew again. "I will set a monster and a trap card, end turn." Eidos nodded and drew a card. "I started to wonder though, Glyph." How can you duel me, knowing that the seventh item is nowhere near us? You cant get immortality until its returned." The vampire licked his lips. "True. I had so much trouble getting it in the first place."

"But I know it will return to me. It always helps me in the end. When you live as long as I do, you find the right things in the end, the right people to suck dry..." Rose cinged. "How can you talk about people that way? How many did you.." She could not finish her sentence. "How many? Well lets see.. if I assume I eat one soul every week, every year. I'd say about six thousand." He cackled. "Six..." They were rendered speechless. "You monster." Andre cursed. "And the rod made it so much easier, I could simply hypnotize my food. So yes I am a monster, one of legends, a vampire as you say. And soon I will no longer be a demon, but a god!" The Ex-assassin had heard enough. "I wont ever let that happen, you of all people dont deserve this ascension, I attack!!" Sapphire Pegasus slashed through his facedown. "Meheh for my next trick... I will need my apprentice!" It was the Apprentice Magician(400/800). "Or two..you see when you kill this card, I can summon another lv2 magician facedown."

He had placed a second apprentice, which was also a level 2 card. "Oh damn it." Amber Mammoth flattened that one, which was replaced by a third. "Keep going, eheheh." The final mage was cut to pieces by the cat. "Well I have run fresh out, so.." He placed a different mage down, which was killed by the Tiger. "Old Vindictive Magician(450/600)!" And this one had a more destructive flip effect, it could destroy one monster on the field. "Be gone, Eagle!" So before he could give the final blow with the Cobalt beast, it was removed from the field. "Curse it all." A blue jewel was all that remained. Once again, the street artist managed to escape death with a magic trick "I set a monster card facedown, and then I activate the field spell card: Rainbow Ruins." The altar was surrounded by pillars and rainbows. "There is are two crystals on my field, even one can prevent the Ruins destruction." He ended his turn. "Ah.. well I have had enough games.." He drew, discarded Skilled Dark Magician, and added a spell to his hand.

"I activate the spell card: Beginning of the End!" Then he removed five dark-monsters in his grave (The three apprentices, Breaker and Dark Magician) to draw three new cards. "_Finally, an Exodia piece_" He grunted, as he got the left arm of Exodia. "Now I reveal my trap card: Dark Dimension Release." He flipped a continuous ntrap. "This will revive one dark monster from the removed-from-game zone. And I choose." The greatest spellcaster: Dark Magician (2500/2100) entered the Ruins from a rip in time-space. "This mage. And he will start off with his finest performance. The Diffusion Wave Motion!" Finally the villain payed 1000 LP to power up his magician, allowing it to attack each monster. "Oh no!" Now the Black wizard could strike down all Crystal Beasts in one turn. "Slaughter his jewelry: Beyond Magic, Fierce Slashing Wave!" He raised his staff to fire a storm of waves, which cleaved through the remaining beasts. But when Glyph targeted Amethyst Cat. "Second effect of Rainbow Ruins! When 2 crystals are in the spell zone, I can half the damage I take once!" Eidos only suffered half of the 1300 damage points, he should have taken. "Heh, that works only once." Glyph finished his turn by setting another card.

Glyphs LP: 800 Eidos's LP: 3250

"But now there are five crystals on my field. The fifth effect of Rainbow Ruins allows me to special summon one of these to the field." He special summoned Amber Mammoth to his field (1700/1600). "Now there are still four, I can draw a new card. That is the fourth effect of Rainbow Ruins" Yet what he drew shocked him. _"Not this? Do I dare use it" _He never did want to use this power, not even as Eidos. But now. "Andre?" Will saw that something was wrong with him, he could see it even through his helmet. _"I have no choice." _He sacrificed three of the crystals, Cobalt, Amber and Amethyst. "I special summon, Hamon, Lord of Descending Thunder(4000/4000)." Everyone gasped, the cyborg fused with his sacred beast counterpart. "I will use this power to take out the rest of your life!" Hamon fired lightning right at the Magician. "Psh, using a Ka made from darkness, it does not work for you!" However, before the blow, Glyph's voice took on a strange new tone. "What?!" He recovered and flipped a spell card. "Magical Pigeon!"

_Magical Pigeon, Quickplay Spell  
Select 1 face-up card with [Dark Magician] in its name on your side of the field. During the turn that this card is activated, the selected monster can not be destroyed as a result of battle or card effects, and all battle damage is negated._

Hamons lightning missed its target, as the Dark Magician faded in a tuft of smoke, and pigeons came from the smoke. "Missed!" Glyphs quickplay spell card negated all damage done to a spellcaster for one turn. Afterwards, the pigeons transformed back into the wizard. "End turn." They expected to see a gloating Glyph behind the dust cover.

"!!!" But instead they saw him clutching his head in pain "Ggh, not now!" He spoke, to himself apparently. "You had your fun, but now you need my power..or we will both die." Cleo and Christine recognized the second voice immediately. "No, it can't be!" It was him. "Jacob!" Glyph smiled at those that recognized him. "I feared as much." Rose shivered. "But how?" Jackson asked him. "Heheh, he wants to know why. You can blame Glyph, he allowed me to copy the power of the rod. Little did he know that I tested it on him first." It seemed Glyphs personality was completely supressed. "You killed me twice, but I had a seed left! I was just biding my time, but now I see that I have to finish the ritual myself" He cackled through the vampire's mouth. "Unreal." Ankhaten noted. "Now where were we? Oh yes the duel. Now little Andre I will show you what true darkness is.."

(To be continued in Testament 094: Dark side of the Rainbow)

**New Cards used by Eidos**  
Crystal Tree  
Crystal Abundance

**New Cards used by Glyph/Jacob**  
Legendary Flame Lord  
Royal Magical Library  
Old Vindictive Magician

-  
Incandescent Ordeal  
_Magical Pigeon_ (+)

-  
Dark Spirit Art - Greed  
Dark Dimension Release

(+) Based on the spell used by Yugi during his 2nd duel with Rafael in season 4


	94. Testament 094: Dark Side of the Rainbow

Testament 094: Dark side of the Rainbow

Glyph dueled Andre still, except now the inner darkness had taken him over. "Discard a card into the Veil of Darkness." The entity known as Jacob was in control now. "I play Graceful Charity!" He drew three cards, including the head of Exodia. "Gggh, the forbidden power?" Glyph's old voice came in between, trying to keep the cards he drew. "Thats your Ka, not mine. I dont need it..." He discarded the Head and a Leg from his hand. "Just sit back old man, I will get us both godhood before you know it." He stared at the very confused Andre, still assuming his Hamon-form. "Time to destroy the you that is not you." He special summoned something new, something large, something familiar. "That is my..no.." He gasped as he looked straight at a Rainbow Dragon, a darker version of his own trump card. "Rainbow Dark Dragon (4000/4000), ironic isn't it? I can summon it by removing 7 different dark monsters in my grave, not just Crystal Beasts." Among those seven dark monsters were the two Exodia and the Illusory Gentleman.

"He is removing all cards Glyph usually uses?" The last hallmark of Glyphs deck, the Dark Magician, was removed from the field as well. To strengthen his Dark Gem God(4500/4000). "This card gains 500 points every time I sacrificed a darkling on the field or in my grave." Hamon(4000/4000) was outmatched. "Dark Rainbow Dragon, since when did that card exist?" Cleo looked at it with great annoyance. She already found the regular version painful enough. "This is my power, little Cleo, the Ka to make shadows of others. Now.. Sacred Beast..you die!" The dragon released a stream of shadows. Hamon was destroyed in one burst, and from the blast came a damaged Eidos. "Brother!" parts of his armor started to fall off. And Glyph/Jacob were laughing all the way. "Ahahaha, you can not beat darkness with darkness. Show me your true Ka instead!" He referred to his own Rainbow Dragon. But that card was not in his hand yet. "Ggh, using the image of that dragon." He drew. "I set one card facedown." Only one power could help him now.

Andre's LP: 2750

Just at that time, someone else came. "Nero!?" The other duelist flew back on Flare wingman. "He has the rod!" Ankhaten yelled, somewhat overjoyed. "Yes that was nice of my old host, to give it back to me." Jacob laughed. Hearing that voice again made Nero freeze up. "No way." He needed one second to refognize him. "You still live? I vanquished you." The old man shook his head. "Foolish Nero, I lived for so long, I do not die so easily. And now the more time I spend in this world of memories, the more I get to know about myself, my true self." He stared at Nero. "You were right, it was a mindgame all along, when I said we were related. How could you even think that I was once a part of that body." He spat. "Then my parents." Jacobus cursed. "Yes, I wiped their minds, and yours too. I erased the parts of your memories that would make you question your actions, just like I erased the memories of Glyph accepting a part of my soul into his mind. He wont speak again for a while.." He cackled. "Now, then, I believe it is my turn."

"Draw!" For once he didnt draw a dark monster card, he kept the trap in his hand. "Well I guess you alerady resigned yourself to your fate, all you have left is one Beast. I will make it disappear!" The black dragon fired another blast of its pale colors at Amber Mammoth. Yet Eidos was ready and flipped his trap. "Rainbow Path!" It was the rainbow dragon tutor card. "I remove the final crystal beast in my spell-zone, to negate your attack." The beam scattered against a yellow crystal. "And then I can add a Rainbow Dragon card from my deck to my hand!" He searched his deck and obtained the Light Gem God. "All seven crystal beasts are now in my graveyard, I can special summon him!" He entered his turn and placed it on the field. "Come out, Ultimate Crystal Lord, Rainbow Dragon!" And now another dragon(4000/4000) floated above the Rainbows Ruins and the altar. "My word, two of them." Raness gasped. "I see a flaw in your plan." Jacob/Glyph smirked. "My dragon(4500/4000) is stronger then yours."

"Now I know your dragon has a powering effect too, you can sacrifice a Beast to gain 1000 attack. But you need to wait a turn. You only have one Crystal on your field too..." The two dragons roared at each other. "Indeed, but what I summon a second?" He summoned another Topaz Tiger (1600/1000), while switching the Mammoth to defense mode. "Now I can get him up to 6000 attack. And this effect works in your turn too, if you attack you had better sacrifice three more darklings." He placed a trap end ended his turn. The enemy was not so sure if he wanted to attack him. "I see, he is confident that I wont attack. If I strike his Beasts, the dragon will simply absorb them. I cant prevent this power-up. "Draw!" Jacob drew a spell next. "Feh. I normally would not do this. But I need more options. I play Upstart Goblin." He played a spell that gave Eidos 1000 more LP, but he could draw a card from his deck, he drew Dark Grepher. "_Thats good. But I still need one more to get my own card up to 6000 attackpoints._" He coughed.

Andre's LP: 3750

"I wont attack... Its Your turn." Everyone held their breath, now was Andre's best chance. "Then I shall. I sacrifice Topaz and Amber, to empower my crystal dragon!" Two slots in the dragons neck opened, the gems filled the holes and started glowing (6000/4000). "Yes, if he attacks now, Jacob will lose 1500 LP and lose the duel!" Nero gloated, he most of all, wanted to see that spirit fade once more. "Here it comes, Glyph, Jacob or whatever I should call you!` The gem god charged his version of the beam attack. "Rainbow Flare!" The dark one was illuminated by the sapphire light, yet that was the moment he picked to reveal his facedown card. "Magical Hats!" He hid his dark god under one of the three summoned hats. "What the.." And he placed two cards from his deck facedown as well (Magic Formula & Dark Coffin), which doubled as hat-tokens (0/0). "Glyph suggested this magic trick..eheh, can you guess which hat has which treasure?" Now Andre had to choose which hat he wanted to kill. "Left!"

If he picked the wrong one, Dark Rainbow Dragon would survive. In the endhe blew up the left hat card. "Swing and a Miss!" It was not the dragon, it was Dark Coffin, and Its effect went off. "Ha! Now you must discard a card, or destroy your dragon!" That was not much a decision to make. "I discard this then." He threw away Gem Flash Energy. "I place two trap cards and end my turn." The other two hats were removed, revealing that the dragon was in the center all along. "People never pick the middle hat these days." Glyphs voice broke through temporarily to taunt the ex-assassin. Meanwhile Magic Formula went to the grave, which boosted his LP by 1000. "Oh no, if Glyph attacks next turn.:" William couldn't sit still. However he saw that Andre was happy. He could see that familiar grin through his armor. "Don't worry Brother." He flipped his trap card, Counter Crystal. "We Carters plan for everything don't we?" William flinched. At the same time, Rainbow Ruins was destroyed. "What are you doing?" Jacob rasped.

Dark Glyphs LP: 1800

"This trap destroys all spells and traps on my field, and in return I can special summon as many Crystals from my cemetery as possible, until the end of this turn!" The enemy cringed, as four Gem beasts appeared, left out were Pegasus, Mammoth and Tiger. "What does this accomplish, you need to sacrifice them as beasts." He growled. "I know." But Andre played Crystal Promise. "Why did you think I left one spell splot open?" This spell allowed him to summon one Crystal back as a Beast. He picked Ruby Carbuncle, whose effect was to call back all Crystals back as Beasts. "Oh!" Now there were four on the field." I sacrifice all four for the Dragon!" Six slots were filled on its neck(10000/4000). "I am beginning to remember the past more and more. These colors add more flavor to it all, they will drive back the darkness you and Glyph and Tum'aga threaten us with." That certainly wasn an impressive looking card, stronger than Dark Rainbow by a dozen darklings. "Make your move, Jacob."

"This is not the end." He drew and added a dark monster to his hand. "Aheheh. This one I will keep, as its very useful to us. In fact, it will all end here. First I summon another piece of my Ka." He summoned a warrior monster, actually it was a demon. "Dark Grepher(1700/1600), the evil counterpart to Dai Grepher." Suddenly he discarded a card from his hand. "Its power is this: Every time I discard a darkling from my hand, I can discard one more from my deck." Thus he sent another piece, the Right Leg of Exodia into the grave, right along with Exodios from his deck. "Now there are two more dark monsters in the cemetery, and one on my field as well! I remove them all from play to give my dragon a secondary boost." Three more slots on the dark beasts neck were filled (6000/4000). "Thats not good enough." Colin protested happily. "Heh, is it? I attack!" Everyone gasped, they did not understand why he would attack now, he would lose 4000 LP! "You have forsaken your precious Ka, Andre, now you will die!

I activate the effect of Dishonest!" But without warning, a dark angel appeared on the field. "What?" His presence added power to Dark Rainbow Dragon, making it equal to the other(10000/4000). "I discard ed this monster to empower my other." They understood what happened. He had discarded Dishonest to add Rainbow Dragons original 4000 attack to the darker half. "They will kill each other!?" They were equally strong now, the attack could not be recalled. "Vanish!" Both dragons clashed with each other, they hit each other at the same time. "Gghk!" And both halves exploded at the same time, all the colors of white against the black force, it created an enormous explosion that blew aside all the pillars. "Is he..." Smoke covered the altar, but there were definitely to shadows behind the cloud. "Their lifepoints were untouched, so they .." Of course both duelists were alive, they had to be. Dark Glyph emerged first, silent but smirking. And Andre.."..Arghk!" Had slumped to the ground, convulsing. "No! whats wrong with him!"

_Dishonest, 4/1100/1900 Dark/Fairy  
During your Main Phase, you can return this card from the field to it's owner's hand. During either player's damage step, when a face-up Dark monster you control battles, you can send this card from your hand to the graveyard to have that monster gain ATK equal to the original ATK of the opponent's monster it is battling, until your next standby phase._

Will rushed towards the scene, but the barrier stopped him. "No, Andre, Andre!" He did not understand,. nobody did, what had happened? "That fool." Jacob/Glyph chuckled. "He did not even realize that his spirit was tied to that Ka." When the dragon died, so would he. "Maybe I should have told him, that this had turned into a shadowgame the moment I showed up." Andre was no longer moving, they could not even hear his last words. "Ehehehe, I guess someone will have to take over for him" He laughed maniacally. "No, no, No!" William banged hopelessly against the forcefield, desperate for any signs of life from his brother. But he was not moving, yet neither was he turning to sand_. "I haven't seen him in years, only to watch him die twice!"_ He cursed at Jacob, and himself for being so helpless. His brother had always been the pride of the family, the one with the good grades, with the best titles. He was the one that got the job with Outerdeck, it was his success. And now it was all taken away, his occupation turned out to be his undoing.

"William." Nero tried to console him, but he would not have it. "Its not fair! Why did he have to go, you didnt tell him that it was a shadowgame!!" Jacob/Glyph merely grinned. "You said his Ka died, but why didn't you go as well? You dragon was destroyed too!" The others admitted that this was a source of confusion. "Oh thats easy." The murderer talked at last. "I divided my Ka over multiple monsters, like how I divided my spirit over multiple people." He cackled. "Basically...I cheated." And that was when Carter snapped. "You devil!" He lost selfcontrol and ordered Timaeus to strike with all his fury. "Will, no!" The dragon released a violent burst of flames, straight at the altar. "The items!" But once again the field blocked the attack, not even his anger could penetrate the protection of the ritual. "Tsch, if you want him so much. Take him." Jacob grunted as he walked over to the body. He picked it up and tossed it through the field. "You!" Andre tumbled down the pyramid, until Cleo caught him. "I got him!"

This rescue however did not diminish the rage of the younger brother. "I will kill you!" At the same time his words did not affect the spirit in the least. "That face is wasted. What can you do, you cant get near me. In fact none of you can, you are all doomed to stand there and watch the sun go down." Dusk settled in already "Its your choice. Either let me become the new ruler of this kingdom, or watch it go down in ruins. You will die no matter what happens." He laughed loudly, with both his voice and Glyphs. "No, there is still someone." Ankhaten said with a severe tone. "Eh, who would..?" He looked around and saw Raness moving. "You??" The prince picked up pieces of the armor that Eidos left behind, the dueldisk being one of them. "Yes, me. I can still fight you." He said. "What? Fight against me, with what?"

The heir answered by putting the disk on his arm. the digital display immediately gave the same readout before Andre had fallen. "Thats right, the duel did not end properly." Christine gasped. "You are joking, you want to continue where he left off? Do you even know how that things works??" He did not know whether to be amused or annoyed. "I watched your fight up close, spirit. I think I know now how it works. Do not forget that I am the heir. You need me, and I won't stand around while letting you have your way." He looked to his left. "These people fought for me, and I almost betrayed their efforts. One of them died because of this, died whil trying to stop you. I want to make up for my mistake, now I can, by defeating you before sunset." The villain was no longer smiling. With a frown he turned to him. "So be it."

Raness's LP: 3750 Glyphs LP: 1800

(To be continued in Testament 095: Tear from the Gods)

**New Cards used by Andre**  
Counter Crystal

**New Cards used by Jacob/Glyph**  
Dark Rainbow Dragon  
Dark Grepher  
_Dishonest_

-  
Magic Formula


	95. Testament 095: Tear from the Gods

Testament 095: Tear from the Gods

A shadow began to fall on the nearest towns, blood had been spilled on the pyramid and the sun was starting to set. Time was running out for the gods heir.

Raness's LP: 3750 Dark Glyphs LP: 1800

Since Dark Glyph took last turn to kill Andre, the first turn of the duels continuation belonged to Andre´s succesor, the Pharaohs son Raness. "Then." He stared at the disk, it said 'draw' on the display. "I take this, the Ka sealed within these 'cards'." He remembered the first time he saw them, at the dinner with the Canadians. "Whats it called again?" He said to himself, as he inspected the green border. "A spell..that was it! I activate it!" He activated Crystal Blessing, which would revive two Crystal Beasts from his grave to his spell/trap zone. "I choose these two monsters." He revived Sapphire Pegasus and Amethyst Cat, as the red and purple jewel stones. "Then this must be a trap." He thought as his other card was one with a purple border. "I set this card facedown. And that is all." This display was certainly entertaining, to the opponent at least. "I have a bad feeling about this, Jacob will take advantage of the prince's inexperience." Doe sighed. "Indeed Jackson." Jacob had overheard the comment. "This will prove that you are not fit to be the king."

He activated a spell of his own­: Allure of Darkness. "I can draw two cards from my deck and remove one dark monster in my hand from play." This would come in handy, since his hand was empty. He drew a monster and an Exodia Piece. "I remove the Left Leg of Exodia and keep this. I normal summon my deathspirit, the Doomsday Horror (0/0)." Colin, Cleo and Nero recognized it. "This piece of my darkness will gain 300 attackpoints for every dark monster that has been removed from play!" And thanks to Rainbow Dark Dragons many removals, Necro Guardna, Malicious, Allure and Beginning of the End, that was quite a lot. "Oh no there are.. nineteen cards!" Everyone stared in shock as the doomsday spirit grew in size (5700/0). "A fool that does not even put up a defense, does not deserve the throne. You are not fit to wield the gods!" The spirit attacked with all those points, one hit would end the duel. "My Lord!" The priest cried. Yet raness was utterly calm, as the demon came. "Now." He pointed his hand at his set card,

"Trap card: Last Resort." And flipped it over. Just before the dark claw slashed against his body, the Ruins of the Rainbow arena returned to the field. "What?" He used the trap card that allowed him to set a certain field spell? "You placed another rainbow Ruin card." Jacob cringed. "Yes. The other explained it, when there were two crystals on his side, he could reduce the injuries he took." There were two crystals right now as well, thanks to the Blessed spell, so he halved Doomsday's damage, from 5700 to 2850 damage. "End turn." The villain spat, waiting for a second chance to slaughter the whelp. "Draw... Rare Value!" He had drawn another spell card, this one also allowed him to draw two cards. "But the opponent must select one crystal and send it away.." He said, and Dark Glyph chose the Sapphire. "Now he cant halve damage anymore.." Raness drew twice, and he summoned a new monster. "Ruby Carbuncle!" The weakest of the Crystal beasts (300/300) was his first. "It attacks!" Everyone gasped. "What is he mad­? It will die!"

Raness's LP: 900

But before the Ruby beast got near Doomsday, a quickplay spell was activated. "Magic card: Cut Jewel. Its effect reduces the original attackpoints of one monster when I discard a beast from my deck." He discarded Topaz Tiger. Yet as he said this, Doosmday Horrors attack went down all the way to zero(0/0) "Go, defeat that thing!" He yelled and the jewel Carbuncle gave the spirit a fierce swipe that took it down. "How did he weaken all 5700 points like that. Thats not halving!" Asked a confused Cleo. "I guess because the spirits original attackpoints were nothing, it dropped to nothing. He drew just what he needed.." Colin fumed. "Thats the power of the pharaoh." Ankhaten said. "Come again?" They looked at him now. "The prophecies say that the Pharaoh can influence fate itself, as he stands closest to god. He is truly the Lords son..." The priest smirked. "Wait whats wrong with him now?" They saw that Jacob was struggling weirdly. "Ggh, when Doomsday Horror dies, all removed dark monsters return to the grave. That includes Exodia."

Dark Glyphs LP: 1500

_Jewel Cut, Quickplay Spell  
Select 1 ´Crystal Beast´ monster from your deck and send it to the Graveyard. Select 1 of your opponent's monsters and halve its original ATK. If your opponent's selected monster is destroyed, draw 1 card from your deck during your opponent's end phase._

"And I lost another part of my Ka.." He clenched his forehead. "I will finish him." Another voice broke through. "Get away old man." He yelled at himself. "The vampire is resisting?" Apparently the dark spirit Jacob was weakened in the attack. "You see the card in your hand, you know which power to use. Its time to summon my Ka!" His expression changed, the villain coughed, and he played the spell. "Recurring Nightmare." He spoke with Glyphs tone, not Jacobs. "I can add two dark monsters with 0 defense to my hand, Rainbow Dark Dragon, and Exodios." The demon inside him flinched. "I could summon this dragon, but I wont use your creation! I will use mine this time." He cackled and summoned the first of two cards. "I dont trust you Jacob, I will win this game alone! Exodios(0/0), come out!" He sent all monster cards in his cemetery back to the deck, including the five pieces of Exodia. "No thats the card that.." Nero started to shiver. "Exodia?" Raness too was aware of this great monster. "Yes, this is my Ka, young ward."

"Exodios?" William, Christine and Jackson were new to this card. "Yes, its a servant of Exodia. Every time it attacks, it can send a monster from the deck into the grave." Nero explained. "It gains 1000 attackpoints for each normal card in the cemetery." Glyph continued the explanation with some added dramatic flair. "A power superior to all others, except the gods. And thats where you come in." Exodios discarded the left arm from the deck into the grave (1000/0) and broke the Crystal Carbuncle with one punch. "I do not need the power of dark Ka to win, I have infinity on my side. Eternity will soon follow!" He ended his turn. Due to Jewel Cut, Raness was allowed to draw 1 new card from his deck. "But if gets all five pieces in the grave, its full power is unleashed. Thats how he beat Ananka." The memory of her death still hurt Colin.

Raness's LP: 200

"Well come on, son of the gods, show me what you can do against this power?" Glyph chuckled and finished his turn. "All you need is a bit of attackpoints, eheheh." The prince grunted and drew another card from the disk. His options were limited. "Set monster card, end turn." The vampire sneered, and drew. "I set a card down. And then, I strike!" The ultimate forbidden mage discarded the other Arm, and powered up both its fists. (2000/0). "Crush the next jewel, my deity." It struck Raness's facedown monster, yet it survived the the assault. "Eh?" It turned out to be the green crystal beast, Emerald tortoise (600/2000). "They have equal defense and offense." Rose gasped. "Feh, so what? Its power is determined, whereas mine will keep rising and rising. Stalling will not help, all I need is time..."

Raness drew once more, but this time he had some offensive tools. "I invoke, The Amber Mammoth." He normal summoned the orange crystal elephant (1700/1600). "Then I empower him with another spell, Crystal Release. I know that some spells turn into armor or weapons!" He equiped the mammoth with the spell, boosting its attack by 800 points (2500/1600) "Yes, if he attacks now, Exodios will die!" Cleo sounded almost cheerful. "I vanquish thee!" The mammoth bellowed and stampeded towards the ultimate spellcaster. "You earnestly believe that you can vanquish me?" Unfortunately, he was prepared for everything. "Defense Seal Wall." He activated the same continuous trap which had been so useful against Ananka's Arcana Forces. "Once per turn, I shall negate your attacks!" The Mammoth stopped in its tracks. "Damn it, he was so close." Carter cursed. "Come on." While it had not been Glyph himself that killed Andre, the vampire's defeat would also doom Jacob. He was desperate to see him lose some lifepoints.

Raness could do nothing else, except switch the Amber monster to defense mode with Emerald Tortoise´s effect. "My turn?" The villain smirked, and drew. This time he did not get a monster card, it was a spell, which he kept to himself. "Kill that thing." Exodios discarded the Right Leg into the cemetery, thus becoming the stronger card once more (3000/0). Since the Mammoths effect prevented any other beast from taking the hit, it had to go this round. "But there is a hidden ability to the spell." Raness however used the destruction of the Crystal Release equipment, to set a crystal from his deck to the field. "I set my third and final Sapphire Pegasus to the field." Now he had four jewels in his spell/zone. There was still room left for one more beast. "You learn fast." Glyph smirked. "But you dont have much time left, the sun will set in less then an hour." He placed another card and ended his turn. "Draw." He had four crystals on his field, so he could draw one more time with the field spells effect. ".."

He had two cards in his hand, Exchange and a trap. "_This magic..it allows me to trade cards in the players hand. But the only card in his hand right now, that can only be the darker rainbow dragon_." Even if he could use such a terrifying power, he was not sure if he wanted too. "I set a trap card, and that is all." The others were shocked to see him do that. "Doesn´t he know? That thing only needs two more attacks to end this battle!" Colin rasped. "What can he do though, he can not attack Exodios anymore." That was also true. "Well far be it from me to question your timidity. Have you accepted your defeat already?" Exodios discarded the other leg (4000/0) "I could never accept defeat, not against someone who murdered my father and my mother." He looked at him with determination. "Suit yourself. If you want to stay until the final act, I wont stop you!" Then the forbidden one killed the Emerald tortoise. "I only need the head now, and..eh?" But before it died, he activated his trap to make room for the dying beast.

"Rainbows Gravity!" Seven beams of light came, from the graveyard and his field. "That trap! It can revive the gem lord if seven or more crystal beasts are present." The beams combined and formed a familiar shape. "Its the dragon!" Rainbow Dragon, the one Dark Rainbow Dragon killed, came to the field in attack mode(4000/0). Its attack was equal to that of the current Exodios, so it couldn´t be killed unless Glyph was willing to destroy both. "How colorful." He merely spat and killed the Tortoise still. "I will win this duel with the final power, the gathering of all five Exodia pieces!" He finished his turn by placing one card facedown "He can win now, cant he?" Christine asked. "Its an impressive Ka, yes, but" Even Ankhaten knew that the trap was still in the way. "What now eh prince. You could use Rainbow Ruins fifth effect, resummon your Carbuncle and all your other Beasts. Their sacrifice should pump up your dragon by five thousand points. But then my Defense Wall will protect me, and in my turn I will discard the last piece!"

"No, I will not use that power. I know off a different power!" He removed all the crystals in his cemetery from play. "Rainbow Dragons second effect: He can send all things on the field back to the players decks, if its master sends all fallen beasts into the next dimension." Everyone was amazed, surely this would remove Exodios once and for all. "Sorry, thats show a no-go." Alas, even this could not surprise the street artist. "Counter Trap card: Rage of the Forbidden One. It blocks your power, and kills the one that dares to use it!" Lightning came from his monster. And it electrocuted Rainbow Dragon, sending into the cemetery. Rainbow Ruins did have the power to negate spells and traps, but not a counter trap, since those were of a higher spell speed. "No!" This left Raness without his strongest card, Andre's strongest card. "Is your turn over?" He waited for his own battle phase to unseal Exodia. "My lord." Ankhaten said softly. He could not bear to see him lose. But Raness had only one thing to say. "I am the Pharaoh."

_Wrath of the Forbidden One, Counter Trap  
Activate only if you control a face-up ´Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord'. Negate the activation of an effect of a monster/spell or trap card and destroy it._

He activated the fourth effect of his field, drawing another card from his deck. "Pharaoh? You are not, I do not see it.." The heir then activated the fifth effect of the ancient city, just like Glyph predicted. "I change the Ruby Carbuncle(300/300) back into a beast. When it is invoked through special methods, all other gems will also return to their monster form." Sapphire (1800/1600), Emerald (600/2000), Amber(1700/1600) and Amethyst (1200/400) came back to the field. "What are you planning with those weaklings?" The answer came quickly. "I tribute them." He removed three of the beasts, and closed his eyes. "Justice in the name of the Gods: OBELISK!" And then he spoke the word that was whispered into his ears. "!!" Right as he called forth his new monster, Nero's hand began to burn from the suddenly blazing Millenium Rod. In an instant it flew from his hands, and landed in the altars circle. "Its the ascension!" Ankhaten yelled. Then Obelisk showed up on the field at last, the blue soldier and the God of Earth (4000/4000).

"Thats Obelisk? He looks like Raviel!" Cleo shouted. "This is a god?" Lucifer Doe was impressed. "No, no! You didn´t!" Glyph was speechless. "You can not attack with that! My trap will block this power of yours. And then I will drink your blood as you bathe on gods light!" He screamed frantically. "No, your trap will not work against a god. They are above it." Obelisk stretched out its huge claws, and crushed the two remaining crystal beasts between them. "I am the lord now, the time has come. In the name of the gods, I will atomize the power of Exodia, forever." Obelisk fired a large beam straight at Glyph. "No you can not do this!"

"God Hand Impact..."

Dark Glyphs LP: 0

(To be continued in Testament 096: Exodia Vanquished)

**New Cards used by Raness**  
God of Obelisk

-_  
Jewel Cut _(+)

-  
Rainbows Gravity

**New Cards used by Dark Glyph**  
Recurring Nightmare

_-  
Rage of the Forbidden One _(+)(+)

(+) Based on the trap used by Johan in GX, only turned into a quickplay spell card

(+)(+) Based on the spell used by Amon in GX Season 3, except now the spell is turned into a trap. Heh.


	96. Testament 096: Exodia Vanquished

Testament 055: Exodia Vanquished

Obelisk attacked, not holding back one bit. The god sacrificed even his own allies, the crystal beasts, to gain even greater powers. "God Hand Impact!" One fist of his was enough to plow through Exodios, the Ultimate Forbidden Lord, and deplete all of Glyphs lifepoints at once. "_Ghgk, so close.." _Glyph reeled backwards from this staggering hit. He could do nothing else, none of his traps and protection walls could block such a fearsome power. "_There is a power above... this.." _He saw Exodia the Forbidden One, severed into its five pieces again. And Obelisks divine aura turned each arm, leg and head to sunders, Exodia's infinity was still nothing compared to a gods infinity. _"So thats what it is like, the power of the immortal_" He coughed up blood, dropped to one knee and looked at the prince and his spirit.

Glyphs LP: 0

"You..." He struggled to say even one word. But his opponent had many. "You have lost, invader." Raness stood before him, he was the new pharaoh. The ritual was finished. "Nothing that Orichalcos sends can stand up to the three pillars." The items stopped glowing. "N-no.." Desperate, the vampire started crawling towards one of them. "You had your chance." The barrier around the temple disappeared. "Its too late now." Finally Glyph stopped moving, his decay had reached its peak. He placed one hand on the Millenium Eye. But at that time he collapsed. "It is over." Glyphs consciousness started to fade away, to the outside world it looked as if he was merely dying. But his hand remained firmly latched unto the Item. "You are." Only the old man could see it; nothing but darkness. "You were." A deep voice echoed. A single glowing star appeared in the shadow, one with a strange shape. "What you can be..." It reached out to him, engulfed his soul. He stared back at the darkness and finally he gave in. All signs of life faded from the body.

Now all focus was on the Pharaoh Raness. Ankhaten was the first to speak up. "My Lord." He bowed immediately. "You are the king now, the Pharaoh." Raness was now the closest to god. "There is no need Ankhaten, no need to be humble." He looked at the others. "You don't need to either. You have helped me as well, in both worlds." Jackson flinched. "What do you mean?" But he did not follow up on the comment, instead he looked beyond them, at the city and the palace. "This is..was my kingdom.. Yet I am still here. Something is wrong still, I can sense malice in the kingdom. Not every one of the invaders has been taken down yet. Without their leaders they must be disorganized, its time to deal with them." The priest nodded. "Yes my lord, I shall round up all surviving soldiers and drive them out. The Canadians can help, and they can also free the hostages." He looked at the others, with a smile for once. "Meanwhile, I would like to see my brother and sister again. Mr. Doe." He asked Jackson. "Oh ehr yes."

Not everyone left the pyramid though. "Oh Will." Carter dismounted Timaeus and walked up to the body of Eidos, of Andre. "I am sorry, Will." Nero was there as well. Jacob had killed Wills brother, but he still felt guilty. "Its okay, I know who to blame." He clenched his fist. "But I can't do anything about it anymore. Look at him." He pointed at Glyphs body. "I want to go over there and, I dont know..punch him, kick him, anything!" He yelled furiously. "But that wont do me any good. It wont bring him back." He sat down next to the body. "I mean, I haven't seen him in years and now.." At that time, the Pharaoh joined the two. "I wont say that I know how you feel." He began. Carter looked up, confused. "I will just say this, in the hope that it will ease your suffering." He sighed for a moment. "Without him, I would have fallen into darkness again, and so would the world. The living are all grateful for your brother, he is a true bringer of the light." Will looked back at the Pharaoh, and then away again. "I am grateful too.."

Ankhaten had gone off into the city, while Lucifer Jackson Doe went back to the storage room to contact Arahabaki. Cleo, Colin and Christine were left to inspect the town. "Got one!" Colin cornered a random demon with Critias, one left behind by Orichalcos's troops. "Mine!" Yet Cleo jumped in and summoned one of her cards to clawswipe the monster to his death. "Hey I saw that one first!" He protested. "Well if you can see ahead, then you should have known I would do that." She called back her monster. "Guys, we shouldn't argue right now." Rose said as she stepped in between the two. "This is not a game." She glared at them both. "Those Tum'aga bastards sure treated it like one, and this isn't a real world either, is it?" Colin tapped the nearest house. "I mean, this place is made from Raness's memories. And now he has the gods that Glyph came here for. What I am wondering is, when does this end?" Cleo shrugged. "Dont ask me, I say we find all critters and smother them." Christine too, was not sure. "What else... is there?"

Back at the Pyramid, Raness was greeted by his siblings, a bemused Senes and a frantic Metru. The latter though converted his fright into enthusiasm, when he saw the bodies of the invaders. "This is fascinating!" He could not help but poke the armored body of Xifos. "..." The remaining Personae and the other two egyptians were not as joyous. "If you are the king, then that means." Senes knew that her father had fallen, and yet she did not seem too saddened. "We don't know how many priests have fallen, our mother..." Lady Neith was gone too, and they would never realize how harmful her true intentions had been. "We have a lot to rebuild, and a lot of people to wake up." But the time for joy and depression was cut short, by surprise and alarm. All sunlight left the kingdom, the sun set behind the altar. "What the.." Yet when the pyramids shadow had grown all over the city, strange threads of vicious energy began to float into the sky. "Hey whats this?" Beams of blackness came from the palace, and the temple.

One such beam came from the body of Xifos, another came from Illya's remains. "That presence, it can't be!" Nero, Cleo and Rose recognized it, Arahabaki soon noticed its true essence as well. This foul aura could only belong to the parasite of their pasts. "Its Jacob, the dark spirit!" Everyone became aware of the danger that grew above, they all flew back to the pyramid on their dragons. "It is him, I know it!" Nero cursed. "Yes, I can sense it too." Ankhaten returned too, he had been unsuccesful in locating any of his men. "Who do you mean?" He was already displeased because of that, all he saw was more sand than usual. "It is Jacob, no..rather..the dark wraith, the second entity inside Glyph. He must have survived the defeat of Exodios, as his Ka was not tied to Glyphs. But what is he doing now?" At that moment, both Cleo and Christine felt a sharp pain in their chests. "Ow, what the hell?" Cleo clutched hers, it felt as if a hornet stung her from the inside. "No, dont tell me." Christine gasped. "Its the seeds."

"He is drawing all parts of his soul together again!" She cried. "That can not be, I destroyed that seed in Atlantis." Nero yelled. He knew this to be the truth as he did not feel their agony. "No you only destroyed that part of Jacob that actively controlled her and Caine, and then returned to your body. Its just that a small part of his essence was left behind every time he switched hosts, but it was not enough for him to overpower the mind. For example..." He pointed at Xifos. "He once gave Edgar a penalty game after a shadowgame. He did the same with Venice. The parasite that was inside Glyphs mind is taking back those shadowbits that he handed out, and he wants the parts from our friends as well." Arahabaki explained. "But what is he doing with it then?" Colin panicked, as he saw the black orb in the sky getting bigger and bigger. "You dont need to ask, look." Raness pointed at the edge of town, beyond the Nile. The ground in the distance started to crumble. "The memories, they are falling apart. He wants to destroy them.."

"Memories, what do you mean?" Metru asked. "They are not..." Raness knew what was going on, this world was made from his memories. But he could not tell his own brother that he was just a figment of his imagination. "So, technically he is just being a sore loser, and trying to take us all down with him?" Cleo grunted, as the pain still increased. "No, its more like he is.. ignoring the ascension of Raness. Remember Glyphs warnings; This is what would have happened if the kingdom had no proper ruler before the setting of the sun. The question is." The fake black sun above seemed to increase exponentially. The desert was falling, the sky shattering. "What do we do? What do we do?" The survivors panicked. "Isnt there a way out of here?" Carter rasped. "Yeah, well there was a portal. But we kinda blew it up." Colin laughed nervously. "Leaving this place, how? This is our kingdom!" Ankhaten protested, he did not know about this place's true purpose either. "My lord, what do we do?" He looked at Raness.

The Pharaoh was looking up at the growing black sphere. "I can not stop this, I can not enter there." And just then, Christine doubled over from a sudden headache. "Ah!" A loud noise pierced her mind, a sentence adressed at her. "Christine, whats wrong!" Nero shouted. "He said... that he will find his true name." But she did not quite know what that meant. "What?" Raness tried to explain, since he could feel the intrusion very well. "I don't know how it works, but his essence is beyond this realm. It is heading for another place." The duelists realized he was talking about the modern world. "Then what's stopping him?" Nero asked quickly, as mountains began to break down. "The seeds still anchor him to this plane. He can not continue without them." The girls flinched. "Oh great, that means us." Cleo sighed and tried to get up. "Then, what can we do?" Christine slowly recovered as well. "Only you can reach him, only you can destroy him for good." The Symbolist told them. "Well thats nice." The goth said sarcastically.

Will clenched his fists "Only them?" He naturally wanted to go after Jacob, since his brother died because of that fiend. "Sorry, it wont work." But Carter did not have a dark seed, Jacob never possessed him. "Then how do we get to him?" Was the next question. "The items!" Jackson said "Yes, that is what you need. The Millenium Key has the power to find the evil Ka inside your body. And the Millenium Rod can draw you to it." The two picked up the objects. "Now what?" Cleo stared at the key. "Point them at each other, and concentrate. You will see the remnants of 'Jacob' and make contact with him. I can assume that he will desire such an encounter, since he can not be free until he kills you two as well." Though the prospect of a duel against their inner demon did not appease them much, they knew what had to be done. "Here goes." Rose raised the Rod. "If this works, I will.." Caine did the same. and in that instant, both tools glowed with a faint golden light. One small flare in the sea of hungry shadows. "Oh.."

Then both girls collapsed to the floor, their minds in another place. They woke up soon afterwards, in that new world. They were no longer lying on the floor of the altar. "The hell?" Instead they were inside a strange dome, seated on a large circular platform. Strangely the ceiling and the floor were flipped by 90 degrees, turning them into wide walls. "Where is this, and...!?" Christine glanced to her left and saw the crumbling Memory kingdom. "And there?" And the ceiling to the right revealed the skyline of the city where the museum was. "This must be the in-between spot, of the worlds."

Just then footsteps echoed across the platform, someone was coming. "It is you!" They only expected one person. "Welcome ladies, I see you received my calls and followed them at last." In front of them stood Jacob, but he no longer looked human, he looked like a wraith. There was not a trace of his previous hosts left, not even Nero. He was merely a hooded spectre, a shadow. "Just what are you anyway?" Caine asked this new Jacob. "Even I do not know the answer to that. Maybe I am just a shadow, but I dont accept that answer. You can help me with finding the truth."

"You see, I failed to learn the names of the gods, the names hidden inside the puzzle. I was hoping that by winning this memory game, I would find out why I was born inside this puzzle. My name is in here too." The girls stared at him with contempt. "So you are going to crash the entire game, just to find out? You dont even have a body anymore!" Cleo shouted. "Oh I will, thats where you come in. The seeds I left allow me to take over either of you, Glyph is sorta dead right now, and I can not possess bodies that are modified like Illya's and Xifos's. Thats why I called you to me." The phantom then produced a dueldisk from the shadows. "So thats how I will settle this duel, you beat me, and I disappear for good. But if I claim victory, I will have a solid form and an actual name." Cleo and Christine did not attempt to protest, they had to beat him. "Well in that case, we will fight together." Rose said, surprising Cleo. "Wait what?" Before she could say anything, the setup was made. "Two stand a better chance than one...after all."

Cleo Rose's LP: 16000 Dark Phantoms LP: 16000

(To be Continued in Testament 097: One more Shadowgame)


	97. Testament 097: One more Shadowgame

Testament 097: One more Shadowgame

Christine and Cleo both teamed up against the Dark Phantom formerly known as Jacob. Their lifeforce was combined, while his was doubled.

Cleo Rose's LP: 16000 Dark Phantoms LP: 16000

"I can do this alone, you know." Cleo hissed. "But we have a better chance this way Cleo. He intends to kill everyone anyway after just one duel, so its better to fight him with all the opponents here in this dimension. That is us two." Jacob merely tilted his head. He seemed pleased, they just couldnt see if there was a smile was under his hood. "But I shall start us off, heh. The first attack will belong to me.." He activated his ever-useful continuous spell card, Veil of Darkness. At the same time, he normal summoned the Armageddon Knight(1400/1200), using its effect to send a Dark monster (Destiny Hero Malicious) from his deck to the grave. "I also set a trap card, end turn." In a tagteam duel, neither player could attack until everyone had taken a turn. "You go second." Cleo said, and Christine nodded. She placed one card in the MT-zone and summoned the burly warrior Guy-Lin (2000/1200) in attack mode. Then when Caine's turn came, she placed two cards facedown and placed a monster in facedown defense position.

"That is all eh?" The spirit drew again, and discarded a dark monster (Dark Grepher) into the Veil. "Well then, let the shadowgame begin!" He normal summoned the Shadowpriestess Ohm(1700/1600) "Not that again." Cleo sighed. "You remember how Ohm can damage you eh? That saves me the trouble of explaining and we can go right to the shooting!" He used Ohms effect to fire off a dark monster, Armageddon Knight, to hit the girls lifepoints for 800 damage. "And since I discarded Malicious into the Veil." He removed the diabolical Hero from his graveyard, to special summon a second (800/800) from his deck. "Again!" He fired off that one as well, for another 800. The second was also removed to repeat the cycle and a third showed up. "Unimaginative bastard." She grunted after they had taken the third shot. He was out of D-Heroes at least. "Careful what you ask for, little Cleo. I am far from done yet." He played another card from his hand. "I already normal summoned, but I can still special summon a monster card.. a dark Ka."

Cleo Rose's LP: 13600

"It can only be called when there are exactly three dark monsters in my grave (Malicious, Armageddon Knight, Dark Grapher). The Dark Armed Dragon(2800/1000)!" A grim scaled dragon faded into view, clawing its way through the void. "Dark? You mean you created another evil version of a monster?" Christine gasped. "Indeed, this is a darker version of the Armed Dragon monster card. And his skill is: The player can remove from play a dark monster from his graveyard to destroy a card on the field." Red eyes flashed underneath the hood. "Go, my Ka!" The dragon roared, and took the souls of the three fallen monsters, to destroy three cards on the field. Guy-Lin was first. "I will stop you!" Rose tried to activate her quickplay spell, My Body as a Shield, to stop the dragon from harming her drunken warrior. "You can't my dear!" Yet he flipped his counter trap: Dark Illusion. "This counter trap blocks any spells that affect my dark creations." He used it to block the effect that tried to kill his dragon. "No." But Cleo reacted next. "Trap card!" She chained with one of her facedowns, Altar for Tribute. She could sacrifice Guy-Lin before he died, and gain LP equal to his attackpoints. "Trying to save your friend, or your own skin. You condemn yourself either way.."

Cleo Rose's LP: 15600

"But this effect works multiple times." He removed two more monsters in his graveyard to destroy Cleo's remaining cards. "Now you will suffer for her!" He was about to strike the goth, but her second trap prevented it. "Huh?" It was the card Waboku, which she could still trigger before its removal. When activated it would negate all battle damage during a turn. "Eheh, the card that that seeress used? It did not help her, did it?" He did not seem to mind this setback, that he could not hurt them this turn. "You used up one of your best cards already." He ended his turn. "Thanks Cleo." Christine said, as she drew again. "Dont thank me, kill that guy instead." She snapped back, and the duelist agreed. "I place another card in the MT zone, and summon Kyle's relative, Diane Baxter(1900/1800)!" She called her healer warrior. "I attack!" The woman used her magic to send the Priestess Ohm into the grave. "No, thank you, Chrissie. Now I have another darkling to remove." He chuckled as he referred to the ability of Dark Armed Dragon.

Cleo Rose's LP: 15600 Dark Phantoms LP: 15800

_Diane Baxter - The Healer, 4/1900/200 Light/Spellcaster  
As long as this card remains face-up on your side of the field, increase your life points by 500 points during each of your standby phases._

"Yeah keep laughing, freak." Cleo was next, and she summoned a Newdoria fiend (1200/800). "What? You think that I'll attack that card, allowing you kill my armed dragon?" The phantom replied with vicious glee. He knew Newdoria would kill whatever sent it to the cemetery. "No, I guess I will have to do it myself." And then she rammed her weaker demon into the black dragon. It died of course, and she took some damage, but its effect took down the Dark dragon with it. "Agh!" He could not believe that one of his best Ka creations was taken down so quickly. "I think this is what they call teamwork." She smirked, and Christine grinned with her. "You will pay for Ananka, Andre, Venice and everyone else, Jacob." The phantom entered its turn. "Teamwork, vindication? Those words make me laugh."

Cleo Rose's LP: 14000

He discarded an Obsidian Dragon monster card into the Veil of Darkness. "Every being on this world is born alone" He played the spell: Allure of Darkness. Drawing two cards and removing one dark monster(Doomsday Horror) in his hand from play. "And dies alone." Next he summoned a Dark Crusader (1600/200). "All life comes from the darkness, and it ends there!" The demonic knight raised his sword and was about to strike the defenseless Cleo. "No!" But Christine activated her trap card, Draining Shield, to overturn the damage. "We will not fall in this darkness, and even if we can not win, we lose together!" She had raised their combined LP by the amount of attackpoints that the Crusader had. The teams unified lifeforce was a testament to their bond, one could not be defeaten without the other. "In that case, at the end of this shadowgame I will give each of you a different penalty game. When the time comes, you will die separately. And the one who screams the most will become my new host." It cackled.

Cleo Rose's LP: 15600

"Ugh this guy's mind is even more perverted then Glyph." Cleo shuddered. "Yeah.." During Christine's standby phase, Diane Baxter used her powers of healing, to give the players back 500 lifepoints. "Now, I sacrifice her, to tribute summon Andrea Baker, the unofficial sister of John Baker." Andrea (2100/2200) joined the field of battle. "Hreh, I am sure she has a wonderful story behind her." Jacob snickered. "You hid in my mind, you probably know all there is to know." She sent Andrea to slay the Crusader. "I have seen many minds, I dont remember every piece of tripe. Though yours is a creative mind, your penalty game might be framed by the demons you read so much about. Then you can curse all those wonderful books. Eheheh." Christine sighed and placed another card facedown. "_Every word he says, it makes me feel..sicker_."

Cleo Rose's LP: 16100 Dark Phantoms LP: 15300

_Andrea Baker, 5/2100/2200 Light/Warrior  
As long as this card is face-up on your side of the field, all other monster cards with 'Baker' in their name gain 500 attack and defense points._

Cleo took her turn. "You dont know when to shut up, do you?" She immediately normal summoned Gil Garth(1800/1200) in attack mode, and struck the maniacal spectre directly. And though the enemy was hit, the monsters blade did not sound like it connected with flesh or bone. "Getting ahead of ourselves?" He did not even feel the hit. "Damn, what the hell are you made off?" She asked as the demonic swordsman pulled out his blade, leaving a trail of ashes in its wake. "No wait, dont tell me..darkness right?" The hood nodded softly. "As I said, I lack a corporeal form right now. I am a pure Ka, pure dark energy."

Dark Phantoms LP: 13500

He drew again, sending a darker Horus into the graveyard. "And since you destroyed one of my favorite pieces of Ka." That being his dragon. "Its only fair to up the ante. This one requires five dead darklings in my graveyard." There were five exactly (Crusader, Ohm, Armed Dragon, Obsidian and a Dark Horus), so it was special summoned. "The deity of the night, Dark Creator (2300/3000)" This time it was the evil counterpart to the a card known as The Creator. "The Creator card possesses the power of ressurection, this one does too. All it costs is a simple removal of shadows." He removed Dark Armed Dragon from his grave. It could not be summoned again anyway, since it was a nomi-monster. "Behold I revive Dark Horus!" The other Ka was an even Blacker Black Flame Dragon (3000/1800). "This one has the power of rebirth as well. But enough foreplay." He stared at the goth, he saw now facedown cards on her field, so it was only natural to want to attack her. "Double strike!" Dark Horus used its fire to burn Gil Garth to the ground.

Cleo Rose's LP: 14900

And then came Dark Creator for a direct attack. "Spell card!" Yet again Rose uses a card to save her friend, kind off. "Sons to the Rescue!" While the card did not prevent the damage from the Dark Creator, it allowed her to special summon Rjak (2400/2300) and Zane Baker (2300/2400) from her deck to the field. Both were strenghtened by the presence of Andrea. "Now we're even, Cleo. Sort of.." She said that because Cleo had spent two traps to save her, and now she had done the same. "Does it really matter who saves who?" She was not that eager to accept assistance, plus they were sharing LP.

Cleo Rose's LP: 12600

"Ah yes the brothers, the sons." The phantom placed the last two cards in his hand facedown. "With the powerboost of their 'mother' they should be able to kill some of my monsters, but they can't attack this turn, can they?" Christine nodded, that was the drawback of Sons to the Rescue. However she already had a plan. "Well they can not, but she can. Union Attack!" She activated a spell. "This card will combine the attackpoints of all my attackers: Zane and Rjak with Andrea." Andrea was about to power up, when.. "Heh, another Counter Trap: Dark Bribe!" The wraith played his spell stopping trap. "That wont work, eheheh." Though she was now allowed to draw a card. Still she could not take down Horus or the Creator without that spell. "Furthermore." Suddenly Dark Horus shrieked, sent its talons into the black floor, and dug out the Shadowpriestess Ohm(1700/1600) in defense mode "Every time a spell is used during your turn, Dark Horus will revive a lv.4 dark monster. This is its aforementioned revival effect."

This way he could fill the field with as much dark creatures as he had fed to the veil. "Darn it." Christine's warriors had to slay that card for the second time. "Well I guess its a good thing them that I dont have any spells to use." Cleo rasped. "Christine, I am going to borrow one of your cards." She looked at her, and was given a positive nonverbal answer. "I sacrifice her card: Zane Baker for this card: End of Anubis!" The jackalwarrior came to the field (2500/0), a card that the wraith was well familiar with. "The lord of the dead." He cursed. "I figured you'd like it. Now I do believe his effect blocks both your monsters." She smirked. The phantom remained silent. End of Anubis had the power to negate any effects that took things out of the grave. "Thought as much. And now I attack the Dark Creator!" Anubis raised his claws above Jacobs monster. Yet as they came down, they swiped through the shadows instead. "Hey?" The evil duelist and his monsters had traded places, now he stood in front. "Continuous trap card: Astral Barrier."

Dark Phantoms LP: 11000

Cleo flinched, she remembered him using that card when he was inside her mind, back at the real world. "You wont touch my Ka anymore. I dont even feel the pain.." Grunting she ended her turn, allowing him to draw, and send another dark monster into the veil. "And this time I wont bother to strike one per round. I have decided that both of you deserve my attention." He sneered and lashed out with both Dark Horus and Dark Creator, killing the Jackal and Andrea Baker respectively. Her death also meant the downpowering of Rjak(1900/1800). "Those two are becoming troublesome." Rose moaned. "No kidding." And as their lifepoints began to decrease, they felt a pulse underneath them. "Huh?" They looked behind, and saw the still crumbling world of Ancient Egypt. "Yes, there is not much time, eheh. Even if the Pharaoh refound his memories, he wont have any use for them once he is dead. Someone else will inherit the name. But you cant tell him this, you wont ever leave this place. Not as long as I breathe, aheheheh."

Cleo Rose's LP: 11900

Back in the real world, signs of the dark catastrophe started to reveal themselves as well. Cable stared at the stone tablet, and the Wadjet symbol on top began to flicker. "What?" He walked closer to inspect it, and saw the symbol attain a deep black glow. "This is.." He knew that this had to do with whatever the others were doing inside the memory world. It hadnt even been half a day since they slipped into a vegetative state. He thus hoped that it would not take too long for them to... "Dont move." His train of thought was intruded upon by an individual. A person that aimed a gun right against the back of his head. "When did he sneak up on.." He looked behind, and saw a man in a Hazmat suit_. "And how..I didn't see any reinforcements come in. The soldiers were all comatose like_." But then he realized who was in control of the guard that found him, the same entity that spied on him and turned him over to Tumaga, the artificial intelligence. "S.I.M." He turned around to face 'it'. **"Cable Fraser. Lead me to the remaining targets."**

(To be Continued in Testament 098: Born in the Night)

**New Cards used by Christine Rose**_  
Diane Baxter - The Healer  
Andrea Baker_

**New Cards used by Phantom of Darkness/Jacob**  
Dark Armed Dragon  
Dark Crusader  
Dark Creator  
Dark Horus

-  
Dark Illusion


	98. Testament 098: Born in the Night

Testament 098: Born in the Night

The Pharaoh, his family and friends all still stared at the growing eclipse. More and more pieces of their kingdom, their reality, were stripped away by the dark forces. House after house fell into the gaping black hole. When only the pyramid and land around it remained, they could no longer contain their distress. "Whats going on brother, why is..the sky..so different." Metru gulped. "Why is the earth itself rotting away, why is our kingdom." Ankhaten interrupted him. "Metru, he is no longer merely your brother, he is the king, adress him as such." But he too stared at Raness for an answer, as did Senes. The humans knew the truth already, but they could not say anything. "My lord?" They asked again, and this time he responded...with a sigh. "I think I realized it the moment I touched this." He tapped Andre's dueldisk. "Where these feelings came from, these memories." He looked down at the duelists, William carter specifically. "I saw them, before. I was with them..in pieces." He closed his eyes, and whispered. "This is not real, everyone is already..Gone.."

When he finished talking, it was as if a rush of tranquility came over the others. Metry, Senes and Ankhaten relaxed and closed their eyes. They did not even say anything, and dissolved into sand, floating away with the winds. "Hey, what the!" Colin gasped. "What happened to them, are they d.." Nero yelled, and was quickly stopped. "No, they never truly lived." Jackson grunted. "Like Taurt and Osirid, like the people in the garden, they were all just memories. Raness is the true host of the puzzle, and these are your memories are they not?" Raness nodded. "Yes. This is the past, and this." He touched the device again. "This is the present. I am beginning to see what I saw then, when I was..fragmented. I saw death, I saw a green light, I saw those dragons." Then behind him, the seven Millenium Items dissolved into dust as well. "The ritual was recreated to restore my scattered thoughts, I am whole again. But.." He glared at the black sun. "The evil spirit is becoming whole as well, and only one of us can leave the memory."

Dark Phantoms LP: 11000 Cleo Rose's LP: 11900

The Dark Phantom ended his turn by normal summoning a Vengeful Shinobi(400/800) to his field. "My turn!" Christine's voice echoed across the black void. "Heh, getting more resolve now that you know your friend Cable is in danger?" The wraith cackled. In this void the players could see both memory and reality at the same time. And they could see how Cable had been trapped in the real world. "Its not like I intended to waste time here anyway." What they did not know yet, was that their real bodies were in danger as well. "I equip Rjak with the Genji Armor as well." Rjak gained offense from its new armor (2200/1800).

_Genji Armor  
This card can only be equipped to a warrior-type monster card. Upon activation you can choose the following effects:  
- The equipped monster gains 300 ATK and inflicts piercing damage  
- The equipped monster gains 300 DEF and this cards controller takes no battle damage from battles involving the equipped monster card._

"If you insist." Yet this allowed Dark Horus to revive another lv.4 darkling: Obsidian Dragon (800/2100) "You forget that everytime you play a spell, I get to ressurect a lv4 darkling for free." It sneered. Ï know that. But that effect only works once a turn!" She countered as she placed a monster(800/800) on the field. "I summon Armor Breaker, the Union monster. And I equip Armor Breaker too Rjak." Johns eldest son joined with the union monster, equipping it as a hammer. "When an Armor Break-equiped monster inflicts damage, I can destroy one card on the field. And thanks to your Astral Barrier, Rjak can attack directly!" She smiled and scraped her blade through the phantom. "Ehehheh. Dont overlook my Obsidian Dragon here. It nulls all effects that target darklings, including your Armor Breaker." She however smiled. "I have more targets then your dark monsters though." The continuous trap: Astral Barrier shattered. "Now I can attack normally again." And since there were monsters on the field, Rjak Bakers effect allowed him to strike twice. "!" He swung his sword, and cut into the black dragon, inflicting trampling damage. "You received damage again, and this time you dont have a card that deflects the union monsters effect." She pointed at Dark Horus. "I wont let that thing be in our way any longer, I choose Horus." The blackest flame dragon shrieked as it sank back into the shadows.

Dark Phantoms LP: 8700

"Draw." Rose had ended her turn afterwards. Cleo was next. "Bah." Her hand had no monster that could kill his Dark Creator. "I summon the Masked Sorcerer (900/1400), and attack your Shinobi." But there was one thing she could kill, his vengeful swordsman. The magician pelted it with its staff. "And when I inflict damage, the Sorcerer gives me a new draw from the deck." She explained as she drew again. "What a coincidence, so does mine!" Jacob laughed, as he drew a card too. "When an attack-position Shinobi is destroyed, its owner can draw from its deck." The goth merely spat and placed another trap facedown. "At least you used an actual effect this round, eheh." Her turn ended. "What was that?" She hissed. "Hrm? Oh that, geheh, no offense Cleo Caine, but you really arent that much of a threat with all those cards of yours." He drew and discarded a Darklord Zerato into the grave, thanks to the Veil of Darkness.

Dark Phantoms LP: 8200

"Look at yourself, Caine, and your deck. Its filled with cards that you think are neat, and your clothes are worn to draw attention from others. Next look around you. Do you think any of that 'darkness' compares to mine. You think its something 'cool', you think its something fun. But I will show you how wrong you are." He activated the effect of a card in his hand, Dark Nepthys. "I can discard this monster from my hand, and remove two dark monsters in his grave (Ohm & Shinobi) from play. Now it will come back next turn, reborn from shadows." Then he tried to reactivate the power of the Dark Creator, removing one monster (Dark Horus) to revive another. "I special summon a new Ka, Darklord Zerato!" He shouted as the evil half of Zerato began to take form. "No, you do not!" Yet the goth had seen enough of him, and activated Bottomless Trap Hole. "How is that for an effect!" She rasped, as the dark angel fell into the pit and was removed from play. "It seems your traps are all that are in the way. But I know your entire deck Cleo, did you forget that? I have nothing to fear from either of you."

"My Battle phase.." He turned to Christine, and sent The Creator to finish off Rjak. "Of course I know it will survive.." She had it equiped with an Union monster, Armor Breaker died instead. "Even so, we can still win this!" She insisted as her turn began. Rose then initiated a tribute summon. "I sacrifice Cleo's Masked Sorcerer, and Rjak, to summon John Baker!" Her main hero came to the field, who immediately equiped himself with The Sword of Light (2500/2000) from the deck. "Even the light of your blade does not tarnish me." The wraith said, as the glowing sword barely illuminated the black void. "I don't care, its stronger than your Creator!" John jumped into range and was about to take down Dark Creator. "And yet you still cant penetrate the shadow, my dear. You are naive as always." But at the last second he activated the effect of a Necro Gardna in his cemetery. "No!" He removed it from play to negate one attack, Johns. "Blast!" She had to end her battle phase and place a trap card.

Cleo Rose's LP: 11800

"Argh, we still cant kill that damned Creator." Cleo whispered. "Its hopeless isn't it: two young girls against pure Ka? How can naivety and self-importance stand against death itself." It was her turn now, and yet she had only two monster cards in her hand and neither could be summoned. Maybe he is right.. I Draw." Even her draw phase did not reward her with a monster card, instead she received a trap, which she placed facedown. "Cleo.." Rose could only watch. It was an odd thing to see her so quiet. "I told you. You can not win." At this point, the effect of Dark Nephthys revealed itself. "Nephthys comes back from the grave, to destroy one spell or trap on the field. Like your source of light, Chrissie. Then I will be able to slay..." However before the phoenix returned, she activated her trap Call of the Haunted "Eh?" To revive a monster from Cleo's grave: End of Anubis(2500/0) "I see." Nephthys's howls stopped when Anubis came, who sealed off the grave. "Once again the dead lord hinders me, but that will..change."

He drew, discarded Dark Simorgh into the Veil of Darkness, and received a spell. "Monster effect, Dishonest." They remembered that card, he used it to kill Andre. "Now my dark monster will gain attackpoints equal to yours." He smirked and discarded the fiend, more than doubling Dark Creators powers (4800/3000). "Its time to die by the hand of darkness, girls. My best creation will ruin your path to light!" The dark god flew into the air and came straight at Anubis, Cleo's monster. And she just stood there, waiting. "Cleo!" Christine could not help her, she was out of cards. "Vanish, fake dark one, vanish along with your fighting spirit!" The Creator came within an inch of The End, when something strange happened. "Wait!" The dark force hit a crystal wall, its attack was halved (2400/3000). Her demon struck back, and swiped right through Jacobs monster. "How did that happen?" Pieces of his powerful Ka flew all over the place, she and her monster had overpowered it with the help of her trap. "Mirror Wall. I dont remember that card".

Dark Phantoms LP: 8100

The phantom flinched back, Mirror Wall had the power to half an enemy's attackpoints, when did she start using that? "Blame yourself." Cleo said from behind her Mirror wall. "Its not my fault that you rammed your precious Creator to his own death." She smirked. "You startled me..." He was out of monsters. "Hey people kept repeating the same words, that this place is not real, and that our cards weren't real. So I figured that I might as well add cards to my deck while I can. And since you were in my head for a while, it turned out to be a smart thing to do." Grunting, the wraith placed the last card in his hand facedown, after which he ended his turn. "Its time to put an end to this, Jacob." Christine drew again, and ordered John Baker and End of Anubis to strike the enemy directly. The jackal obeyed her, since she was the one that revived it with the Haunted trap "We will stop you, before you can summon more dark creatures." The light of Johns sword nearly came close enough to reveal what was hidden under the hood.

"I thought I already told you, my name was never Jacob!"

Yet he still had a trap card to play. "Fires of Doomsday!" Suddenly black flames shot out from underneath the floor, blocking Johns path. "This quickplay spell card creates two Doomsday-tokens, small sprites of death." One-eyed smoke creatures (0/0) came from the dark fire. "You forced me to defend myself, but my powers will not decrease." The two tokens were killed by her two monsters. Then she ended her turn, since she could not summon anything new yet anyway. "Draw!" But the goth could also get her revenge. "To keep this trap on the field. I have to pay 2000 LP every turn. But I dont want to, so I will get rid of the Mirror Wall now." The crystal wall shattered, revealing a slightly annoyed girl behind it. "This one is for under-estimating me." She summoned Dragon Zombie (1600/0). "_Of all things_" Thought the phantom grimly. It attacked him directly with it. Of course since he lacked a corporeal form, it passed right through him. His lifeforce however went down still. "Thats all, End Turn." She said. "Ehe."

Dark Phantoms LP: 6500

But when his body reformed, he was laughing again. "Enough..." He drew a card, and discarded Mad Reloader into the veil. "If you will not fall to my creations, my dark reflections. Then..." He showed them the card in his hand, yet they could not really see what it was, it was completely black. "I will use myself" He placed it down. "I remove 6 different dark monsters in my graveyard from play to special summon 'me'." And the blackness spread out across his field, a shadow so dark that no light could pass through it. The ghost merged with this new card, it became a shadow itself. "This is the Ka of shadows, a Phantom of the Dark Heart(0/0)!" It cackled, as it swallowed all other cards on his field, including the Veil of Darkness. "Behold its power." Suddenly Dark Horus came from the void, or rather, an obscure shape that resembled it. "Once per turn, a darkling is revived from the grave, but only as a spirit. It has no offense or defense, and can not inflict harm. And at the same time, I will be its shadow." The girls were speechless.

_Phantom of the Hearts Shadow, 9/0/0 Dark/Fiend/Divine Beast  
This card cannot be normal summoned or set.  
This card cannot be special summoned except by removing 6 different DARK monsters in your Graveyard from play, and sending all cards on your side of the field to the graveyard.  
Once during your or your opponents turn, you can select 1 dark-monster that is removed from play and equip it to this card  
(you can only equip 1 monster at a time to this card. If this card is removed from the field, the equipped monster card is destroyed instead).  
During your turn you can activate the effects of the equiped card by paying half your lifepoints for each activation._

Christine summoned her Red Claw monster (1800/1600). "I have always known it. There is not even a speck of goodness inside." She shook her head. "You are pure evil, I have to defeat you." She sent her two knights and Anubis to take the Phantom down. The demon swiped through the darkened dragon, leaving only the shadow. "Fool!" Yet as Red Claw came in for the duelist itself, a new creature came from the ground. The black shell of Necro Guardna took the blow for him. "I can keep summoning my monsters, even during your turn. My Ka is immortal!" Then John Baker aimed to pierced the void with his sword, unfortunately. "Remove Necro Guardna." Since he had equiped a monster that had been removed from play, he could re-remove it to negate another one of Johns cuts. "We still cant beat him?" She moaned and placed a trap card face-down. "No, you can not. This is my true form, little girls. I am the corruption of energy, and now I am beginning to see... to see that I never had a name, a human name."

(To be continued in Testament 099: All Things but Forgotten)

**New Cards used by Christine Rose**  
_Genji Armor_

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine**  
Masked Sorcerer

-  
Mirror Wall

**New Cards used by Phantom of Darkness/Jacob**  
Vengeful Shinobi  
Obsidian Dragon  
Darklord Zerato  
Dark Nephthys  
_Phantom of the Hearts Shadow_

-  
Fires of Doomsday


	99. Testament 099: All Things but Forgotten

Testament 099: All Things but Forgotten

Dark Phantoms LP: 6500 Cleo Rose's LP: 11800

The two girls faced off against Jacob still, now nothing more than a shadow hiding behind other monsters. "You are just like a cockroach. All those parasite insults finally payed off." Caine hissed. "I sacrifice Dragon Zombie to tribute summon the Vampire Lord." She spoke as the undead dragon decomposed into the soil, from which a coffin arose. The coffin opened, and out came the Lord of Vampires (2000/1000). "Take this!" However something stirred inside the shadow. "You are still to childish, Cleo. Your turn is a turn for the darkness as well." His card had the power to equip Dark monsters from the removed from play-zone, and he equiped the Doomsday Horror. "Argh, just die!" Her vampire was forced to slaughter the Horror fiend. "You can't keep hiding in people's shadows, Jacob, you already running low on shields." When the Doomsday spirit was killed, he would send all dark monsters that were removed back into the graveyard. "Especially now. You just got rid of all your choices." She placed a trap and ended.

"If I were you, I'd treasure that hope, little Cleo." The enemy drew again. "Spell card: Beginning of the End." The girls flinched, that was one of their most hated spells. "Now he can remove cards again." If he had seven in the grave, he could removed five. "I remove Dark Creator, Dark Armed Dragon, Dishonest, Vengeful Shinobi and Mad Reloader. To draw three new cards." One of those three he placed facedown. "Five new targets." He cackled as he became the shadow of yet another monster. He unremoved Dark Creator, which returned to the field. "Not him again. But he can not attack anyway!" They protested. "True, however! I can pay half of my lifeforce to reactivate an equiped monsters power, like this cards Dark Rebirthing powers." This was why he wanted to unremove his monsters again. "And unlike the Creator, I can force the activation as many times as I want!" Thus he halved his LP four times, to use the Dark Creation effect four times. He removed three D-Hero Malicious cards and a Dark Crusader.

Dark Phantoms LP: (6500 = 3250 = 1625 = 812.5 = 406.5. Rounded down =) 400

He did this to special summon his strongest corruptions. They were Dark Horus (3000/1800), Darklord Zerato (2800/2300), Dark Simorgh (2700/1000) and Dark Nepthys (2400/1600). "Nepthys still has the special effect to destroy one magic or trap card when it is special summoned, so I shatter yours Christine." The villain laughed from behind his curtain of black beasts, his shadow was greater then ever before. "Now nothing can stop us. Go, my minions, end them!" Dark Horus struck first and sank its claws into John Baker, at least it tried to do so. "Trap card! Dark Spirit of the Silent!" Cleo's trap turned out to be lifesaver as well, the silent spirit entered the body of Horus and forced him to stop his attack. Someone else had to attack now. "Instead I will let you use Nephthys!" She yelled as the phoenix charged. "Fine!" Its black flames burned down her Vampire Lord. At the same time, Anubis and Red Claw were massacred by the malicious counterparts of Simorgh and Zerato. The battle was over. "Whew, you saved John, Cleo. Thanks!"

Cleo Rose's LP: 10200

It seemed like they were saved for now, they managed to keep at least one warrior. "Ahem." Yet already that hatefilled voice carved fear into their bodies with that one gesture. "Did I say..that it was over?" He played a spell from his hand. "Surprise Attack from the Darkness. I can discard one card from my hand, so that all dark-type monsters that were summoned this turn can attack again, in a second battle phase!" Their eyes widened, this meant all four of his demons could strike again unhindered. "How can two humans be allowed to smile against a force that has devoured millions of souls. You dont understand the darkness, and for that reason it will curse you into damnation!" Horus shrieked and got to kill John Baker this time. Then Zerato cleaved across Cleo's chest, Simorgh crashed into Christine, and Nephthys sent a swam of unholy flames to agonize them both. They screamed as they felt their blood boil and freeze at the same time. "Yes thats right! Feel the power, feel the pain! All beings suffer because of their own dark side!"

Cleo Rose's LP: 1800

_Surprise Attack from the Darkness, Normal Spell  
Discard 1 card from your hand to activate this card. The end phase of this turn is also treated as a battle Phase.  
During this special battle phase, the DARK monsters you control that were summoned and that battled in this turn can attack again._

Then at the end of its second battle phase, he called off his troops. He would have won the duel already, had it not been for Cleo's trap. "Ggh, you bastard." But they were still alive, barely. "Don't laugh as if you have won the shadowgame already. You wont get us like you did with Andre." Yet Cleo looked to her side and was less confident when she saw Rose, still kneeling down. "What have you...?" Rose was struggling to get up, and felt dizzy. "Heh, I guess it hit you hard, when I murdered John Baker, your spirit guide. Thats the effects of this realm, the next Baker that dies might kill you even." The wraith sneered, still unseen behind his army. "Damn you, damn your twisted games!" The goth yelled at him and the void all around her. "Curse your fate if you must, Caine, but it was unavoidable. I merely do what I was born for, to infest souls and turn them to darkness. I remember now, these were all mine in the past." It finally ended the turn. "Just a bit more, and I will recall it all, like the pharaoh. I will remember the name of my maker."

"Dont..talk..as if ...we are dead...already." Christine groaned, as she managed to get up. "Not going to.."She drew her card, even though her fingers trembled. "Lose.." She played the spell: Pot of Avarice, sending five monsters from her graveyard back into her deck: John Baker, Zane Baker, Andrea, Guy-Lin and Diane Baxter. "Draw two cards." Since she had sent back most of her trademark cards out of the grave, she felt some of her strength return. "Just to warn you Rose. You can not set cards anymore." He pointed at Dark Simorgh." This darkling stops anyone from setting them." But she shook her head. "I wont defend. I summon, Kyle Baxter(1200/2000), and attack you..directly." The sniper was her next monster, it could bypass his entire army and deliver a fatal shot to the 400 LP that the wraith had left. "Impressive really, struggling this much with so little. But as I keep telling you, stop dragging hope through the mud." Alas, for the third time he blocked her attack with the removing of Necro Guardna, the bullet missed.

"She may have been stopped, but I am still here!" Cleo drew again, and got a spell card. "And there is no way in hell that I will give myself up, not to you, not again! So here is another spell which might surprise you!" She played the card: Advanced Ritual Art. "That card?" He was stunned. "Yeah, I show one ritual monster in my hand." She revealed her only ritual card, Zorc the Dark Master. "And then I send tributes from my deck to fuel the ritual, normal monsters. Guess they aren't so useless after all?" She discarded Trial of Nightmare and Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams into her graveyard, a combined total of eight stars. "Come out, Zorc(2700/1500)!" She smirked as the underworld ruler showed up before him. "Feh, Zorc, a mere demon from the shadows. My power comes from a darkness even greater then his."

"Thats nice for you. But I really dont care where you come from, only where youy are headed. Dice roll!" She activated the effect of Zorc, throwing a dice and waiting for the results. "What!?" And the die landed on a 1, of all numbers. "Bye bye." She waved as Zorc wiped out all of his monsters "Now thats you can call a Zorc Infern..... Hey.." However only Horus, Simorgh, Zerato, Nepthys and the Creator disappeared, The Phantom survived by hiding in the shadow of the Creator. "Just die already!" She lost her patience and attacked it directly. However the shadow merely equiped itself with Necro Guardna, using it as a sacrifice to survive Zorcs claws, they could not even inflict battle damage. "I can not. I am not mortal like you, as long as there are shadows, I will linger." Its turn started again.

The phantom summoned a new host for it to hide behind, his Dark Armed Dragon. While it was a nomi-monster, Jacob could still equip it from the RFG-zone. "It is you who are running out of luck." He also activated the spell card: Dark Eruption. Sending a dead darkling back to his hand, as long as it had 1500 attackpoints or less. "Knight of Armageddon(1400/1200)." Which he of course normal summoned. "Now, the Dark Armed effect." He halved his lifepoints twice(400200100), to use the effect to destroy one card on the field. He killed both Zorc and Kyle Baxter in one move. "Direct attack!" Next, the dark knight slashed his sword across Cleo, taking their life down by 1400 points. "The darkness waits Cleo. The decision has been made, I know now that you will be my host when I win, you interest me after all."

Cleo Rose's LP: 400 Dark Phantoms LP: 100

Meanwhile, Rose felt weaker again, the shadowgame was taking its toll. "Christine, don't you dare pass out now." Cleo tried to comfort her in the best way she could. "Don't worry, I wont...." She looked at her dueldisk. She put up a brave face, but she knew.. "This will be my last card, I can barely move" She drew it, and it glowed with the radiance of crimson. "That is!" The red light filled the dark chamber, and Hermos the Atlantean arrived in between. "The claw dragon!" The spirit hissed, as the shadow behind the Dragon shrunk because of this radiance. "I combine it, with Rjak baker!" She had also played The Warrior Returning Alive, to take back Rjak from her cemetery, and then she combined it with Hermos to change it into an equipment card. The brightness of the light decreased as they merged, forming a glowing twin sword.

"I call this: Rjaks Legionsword!" Then she summoned a new monster, Julie - Elemental Warrior of Fire(1900/1700)! "I equip it to her!" Julie sheathed her regular sword and took out the new glowing blade. "Feh." At that time, the phantom played its trap, Dark Spirit Art of Greed. Sacrificing the Armageddon Knight for two new cards, just so she could not take advantage of that monster. They never could have anyway. "Attack!" She wasted no seconds, and cut through the gestalt of the Dark Dragon instead. "Yes, and?" The villain snorted, he could simply equip another monster. "I will tell you, if a monster is on the field after one attack with this sword, I can reduce her attack by 1000 to give her a second strike." So the Julie (900/1700) swung it down again. "Thats nothing." Yet it equiped Necro Guardna to himself, to survive her second kill as well. And the fire elemetal could no longer give up attackpoints. "..End Turn." She said calmly. "Thats right, its the end for you." Cleo drew. "Shut up." The goth said harshly "And read the fine print, wise guy."

_Rjaks Legionsword, Equip Spell/Fusion  
[Claw of Hermos] + [Rjak Baker]  
During your battle phase, if your opponent controls a monster after this card's first attack, reduce the attackpoints of the equipped monster card by 1000, and it can attack again.  
When the equipped monster is tributed for a tribute summon, equip this card to the summoned monster._

She first played Book of Life, to bring the Vampire Lord(2000/1000) out of his coffin. "I can also remove one monster in your graveyard as well. Guess which." She chose Necro Guardna, so it could not stop their attacks again. But the Phantom shadow already equiped it himself for the umpteenth time. "It will not work, its an endless cycle, between me and my favorite little darkling!" She ignored him though and sacrificed both the Vampire and Julie for her last card, Fiendish Enginer Omega (2800/2000). "Huh?" And strangely, the Legionsword passed on from her hand to his claw. "Thats what I meant, the weapon changes owners." She nodded at Christine who looked like she was about to collapse. "Now Omega wields this blade, and with his special effect, his attack goes up by a thousand(3800/2000)"

That meant that Omega could reduce its attack three times, for four strikes. "So why don't you.." Omega made the first cut, taking out the Guarder demon. "Go.." Then with a second swipe, it (2800/2000) attacked the phantom directly. It blocked this attack by removing the Necro monster. "to.." But it couldn't restart the cycle, he had already equiped a dark monster once this turn. Thats why the third blow (1800/2000) destroyed the Hearts Shadow card itself at last. Leaving the wraith unprotected. "Hell!!!" And the final attack (800/1000) cleaved right through him, from the top of his hood to the floor of his dark dimension. "Tgkkt!" The spirit known as Jacob had lost the game.. "You." It continued to speak, its voice changing drastically. "You broke my.." The ghost began to convulse, its shape corroding away at the edges of his lethal wound. "My darkness!" The walls around them began to crumble, and the two girls began to feel very light. "I can not..I can not stop this, out of seeds, out of ..minds. I am..dying,,"

"I AM KA!"

Dark Phantoms LP: 0

On the outside world, things didnt look much better. By now the pyramid was the last structure standing in the shattered Memory world, and the black sun grew without end. "Look!" Yet in this dark hour, a red light came from within the eclipse, and blew it to pieces. Darkness flickered all over the realm, making way for brighter clouds. The winds subsided, and the destruction of this dimension stopped. There was only one last testament to the evil that had almost slain all souls. A small black flame travelled up into the sky. "That is him." Raness said, pointing at the small sprite. "Jacob? He survived?" Jackson flinched. "No. That is merely his spiritual self, his mana. His 'soul' has been broken." And as everyone figured out what this meant, Christine and Cleo woke up again. "Ugh, my head." They moaned, and were at first to confused to share in the joy that overcame the others. "They won!" Nero cheered. "He is gone!" Carter yelled with him. "Then what was.." He looked beyond the clouds, the dark energy was hurrying towards a patch of retreating darkness. "These two vanquished his influence inside them, before he escaped to the modern world. Without an anchor to a host, it could not live. Its rejoined with the darkness."

They all saw it now, an enormous smoke cloud that almost resembled a person. For an instant, a golden light shone in the 'head' of the smoke, just as Jacobs energy was devoured by the cloud. Then the ominous presence coursed into the white clouds, vanishing behind the sunny sky. "The darkness could not win this game of memories."

(To be continued in Testament 100: Recollection)

**New Cards used by Christine**  
The Warrior Returning Alive

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine**  
Vampire Lord  
Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams

-  
Advanced Ritual Art

**New Cards used by Phantom of Darkness/Jacob**  
Dark Simorgh

-_  
Surprise Attack from the Darkness_ (+)

(+) Based on the spell used by Marik in his duel against Yugi, except made a little less powerful.


	100. Testament 100: Recollection

Testament 100: Recollection

"I remember it now." The Pharaoh stood there as the lest remnant of the Memory World. "How I first became king, how I really happened, it was similar to this." Everything else was gone, only ruins remained. "Invaders from another country did come, and several of my priests were taken from us, and even my father.." And the souls from the present time, they alone hard his story. "That was a long time ago, many millenia. This repeat of the tragedy was not only because of the vampire's invasion, but because of my own grief." He sighed and closed his eyes. "My soul lingered around in this year, in this time where I accepted the throne and chased off the invaders in the name of god. Thats what it was like inside the puzzle, where my soul rested since. The cycle repeated every time as the sun set on this day, until this round I was never able to claim the gods. Nor was I able to see the truth. In a way I must thank 'him', I could not break free from this dreamworld until he forced me to succeed."

Finally someone came to Raness with a question. "Then how did you..end up inside the puzzle in the first place?" Nero asked him. "That I do not know. Some of my memories remain inaccesible." He did not understand why this was so. "The last few years before my own downfall are missing. It must have happened after I became the Pharaoh, a separate tragedy that took my land. This is a mystery I have to solve in time. But as for now, I am done here." The first game had been won. "Then we can leave?" Colin said impatiently. "Yes I know, it may be rude, but we got to think of our own time. And also that Cable-guy, he seems to need our help a little." He added quickly. "I am aware of that, the current threat is still the legacy of Atlantis. We only stopped one part of it." He looked at everyone. "I saw fragments of information from your world through the many puzzle pieces that were gathered." That was why they were all able to wield dueldisks and their own cards against the enemy.

"I believe the dragons helped as well." He stared at Christine, Colin and William. "Yeah whats their story anyway?" Cleo asked. "I dont know thw full legend, but what I have heard is this: they were once men from Atlantis. Three atlantian warriors that stayed pure after the coming of Orichalcos and fused their Ka into their swords." More was kept off-record. "The seals reawakening must have revived them as well, their spirits still lingered Atlantis. The three saw a pure light inside of you." He then raised his hand. "Your time here is over. I will take you back to your true selves. I do not know if I can follow, I am still bound to the puzzle. With or without me, you will have to stop Tum'aga, before they ressurect the power of Atlantis, you have to free all those souls." They all nodded in unison. "You can trust on us." Jackson said. Then a tear in time-space opened, and light shone through the rift. This was the way out. "Lets go." They all jumped in, William was the last to go, he stared at Eidos one last time..

"_Again..goodbye brother_" and left too.

Then they returned to the real world, and they were in for quite the surprise. "Oh." They were no longer in the tablet-room. Instead they lied on the floor of the museum basement, surrounded by dozens of hazmat cyborgs. All of them showed the symbol of SIM in their visors, and one of them had a hostage. "Cable!" Jackson yelled, now back in his singular human form. And while it took the others a little while to adjust to their actual bodies, they did not need long to realize their dire predicament. "Typical, in the case that our bodies did get left behind, I knew we would be found eventually." Cleo hissed. At first she didn't want to believe those vague images that Jacob had shown her, but now she and Rose knew that it had been the truth, Fraser had been discovered and apparently forced to lead the enemy towards them. "I am sorry, everyone. But I couldnt handle them on my own." He grunted, as the soldiers arm pressed against his throat. "What do you mean, your own? Where did Anima go?"

They were interrupted however, by the projection of their least favorite female in the world. "Loveless!" They greeted her hologram with disdain. "_**Nice to see you have woken up, I was wondering why it took you so long**_." She glared at Nero specifically. "_**After you kicked me out of the Memory World, I couldn't keep up with what was going on inside. But seeing as you are alive and all my assassins are offline, I can assume you won**_." They did not flinch, there was a thing that interested them in turn. "Then what happened to your friend, Glyph?" Nero asked with a smirk. _**"Oh he is up here with us. His brainwaves stopped just now, I think the poor old dear overexerted himself**_." She laughed softly. "Yeah I know that upsets you." He rasped back. "_**Anyway, lets get to business. You are surrounded. We would have taken your souls already if it weren't for one thing. The puzzle, you hid it somewhere. Cable showed us the location of the rod and key, but he did not know where the puzzle was. "**_

They remembered now, they had told Cable and Anima to hide the items that Glyph dropped after the ritual, apparently in separate spots. Fraser had secured the first two items, while Anime hid the Puzzle itself. But he was gone now, so who knew where it was. _**"So if you tell us who has it, or where it is hidden, we may show a gentle touch**_." This gave Christine an idea. "I have it." Everyone stared at her, in confusion. "It's in my coat." She reached for it. "Rose what are you doing?" They protested. Justine couldn't tell if it was an act or not. "_**Careful now, reach for it slowly, and dont make any foolish moves.**_" Some guards raised their guns. "I wont, all I need is to." Her fingers touched a card inside her pocket, she knew exactly which one she needed. "Get it!" Then a red light filled the room. "_**No, stop her, shoot her!" **_Suddenly Hermos showed up in the middle of the basement, roaring and stomping down on soldiers. His huge body shielded the duelists from their guns. His summoning was almost instantaneous.

_**"Gah, S.I.M. take them down!"**_ The AI complied and started firing at the dragon. However by then he had been joined by others. "If she can do it, so can we!" Will called out Timaeus, who used a tailswipe to knock down the shooting squad. "Thats what I wanted to say!" Colin summoned the third dragon, Critias, who used flames to incinerate other enemies. In the resulting chaos, Cable managed to escape the hold of his captor and dropped to the ground. This gave the dragons the chance to finish off the rest of the troops, blowing them to smithereens. "I bet you did not expect that, did you Justine?" He taunted the holographic mistress, despite the fact that he was every bit as shocked as she was. "Come on, lets blast our way out!" Colin chuckled. "We won't be pushed around any longer!" Even Christine was unusually estatic. "Yeah that was a smart move, but lets get the real puzzle first, okay?" Cable said. "_**Tsch. this failure wont be on my head." **_The virtual image disappeared, Justine had shut it down

Back at her hideout, she slammed on her desk. "_That was inconvenient. Apparently they have full control over the three dragons now_." At this rate her troops would not be able to stop them. "Madam!" Just then a labcoat minion reported to her. "What is it?" She asked with a clear hint of annoyance in her voice. "The body is gone, Glyph has left the sickbay." It yelled. "What? That's impossible! The old man was braindead!" She snapped. "Its true madam, he is nowhere inside the zeppelin. He took the rod too, yet he left the key behind." Another vein appeared on her forehead. "And nobody saw this?" Then a loud crash was heard in the distance. "Now what?" She looked out the nearest window and saw the children flying away on their three dragons. A golden object glimmered inside their hands. "Those little pests." She walked back to the controls. "SIM, set course for Temple Soft. My mission here is done." She sat down and began to rub her forehead. "_It's okay, they don't know yet. They can all die any hour now."_

The duelists had escaped and were now soaring through the sky. "I will never get used to this. Not even in the real world" Cleo moaned, as she looked down. "I can't believe we got away." Nero gasped. "And with this." Cable held on to the millenium Puzzle. "So this pharaoh Raness is inside? If only we could talk to him, but Anima is.." He had already explained to them, how he seemed to go mad, and tried to destroy the memory world. "Yeah well he's an ass, no big loss." Colin sneered. "Wait. Maybe I can try." Jackson said, speaking with the voice of Lucifer. "I have seen him in person after all." He took the item from Fraser and held it in his hands. He tried for several minutes, but he got no response. "Ugh, there is some interference, a strange form of magic in the air. I can tell he is in here, but barely." He cringed and looked up. "Of course, the Orichalcos seal. They still have that satellite up in the air, it must still be close to this city which they drained of all souls." He flinched however. "Wait."

He scanned the sky for the energy that pained him, while the others began their own discussion. "So now what? Tumaga won't go down easily, and I dont know how much time we have. Definitely we need to find a way to take down those satellites, and the Kartel." It looked like they would have to try tower 013 one more time. "Wait everyone." Lucifer Jackson grunted. "What is it?" Christine saw how stressed out he looked. "This can't be right, I sense a sick power, I sense it." He was sure that it was the seal satellite that he sensed, but he felt it in varying degrees. "This force, its..not just here, its over there too." He looked to the east, and pointed at a point across the horizon. "And another down there." And the south. "What does that mean?" They panicked a little. "There is..there is more then one satellite. They have launched more while we were gone!" Everyone gasped. "And its even worse.." He saw other towns coming into view, but they were not all that different from the last. "Its so quiet. you dont think..."

The heroes landed in the nearest city, it was indeed deserted completely. "This is unreal." All they found were military blockades in the distance, but one close inspection revealed that they were owned by the Tum'aga Company. "They got to more towns with their satellites?" The streets were empty, lights were off, all electric equipment gave off static and sparks. "Thats the effect of their interference. With multiple satellites they can reach more areas, and yet." Next they found a convenient newspaper stand and immediately checked the headlines. "You have got to be kidding me." It was not good news, not at all.

_**Viral Outbreak sweeps the Countryside  
**This weekend, a viral outbreak struck the nothern side of the UK.  
Cities have been evacuated, and people are sent to encampments in the south.  
Tumaga Inc, a biochemical and mineral factory has involved itself with the procedures.  
There has been no official word on the source of this strange disease._

"This is crazy, I know some time passed. But all this happened in a day! And the brits actually believe the virus story?" Cleo hissed as she stopped reading. They treated the soul sucking horror like a simple disease. "That'd explain the bio-containment suits that their soldiers are wearing. Disguised as hazmat men they can get anywhere and carry people away." Cable shuddered to think of what they were doing to them. "I guess this place was evacuated too, all the cars that are left behind prove this." However this did not explain how the launching of two new satellites went unnoticed. "Its not a very convincing story though. The government should see the connection, its like they dont even care what happens anymore." They dropped the paper. "Right, we have no time to stand around and read. Tum'aga is plotting something and we don't know what." However Jackson raised his hand. "Well I may have an idea." He looked up again, and concentrated on the energy signatures. He realized why it was so hard to find them, they moved..

"I told you that I can sense three of them right? Three of the satellites. I think it's because part of me has already been inside Orichalcum, its familiar to me now." He sighed. "They are building up distance now, each heading in a different direction." The others flinched. "What does that mean?" He shivered and answered. "I think they want to increase the range of their space weapons. One is going north, one northwest and one southwest." He visualized a pattern in his mind. "I am not sure, but I believe they will launch three more today." There was even more gasping. "Why?" He opened his eyes again. "Six beams, six points in the sky. This arrangement should be well-known to you as well." He repeated his imagined pattern with gestures, and they slowly got it. "No way." He shook his head. "Yes that must be what they are doing, I would do the same if i were them. Six beams, each fired at nother. Together they form the mark of the Atlantis star, The Seal. Tumaga is trying to create a global-size Orichalcos Seal up there, to drain all of the world!"

Many hours had passed since the children were last seen at the museum, and Justine pulled her troops back to Templesoft . By now he felt it safe to return to the source of his confusion. Anima had come back, and walked close to the coffin that caused his brief period of insanity. He had a hard time finding it however, it was taken somehow. Eventually he found the sarcophagus and the mummified corpse inside. And there was another body next to it. Glyph and the coffin were located in an abandoned household just a few blocks to the south. "_How did he get it this far?" _Around him was his precious Item, the Rod. But there was something else, something shimmering inside his rotting hand. "_This is?" _He pryed it from his grey fingers. "_An eye?" _He held unto the fourth item, the millenium eye. As if given an idea by an outside force, he moved for the mummy and studied its head. "_..."_ As he expected there was a strange marking around the left socket, a metallic scar. "_Could this be...the priest of the eye?"_

(To be continued in Testament 101: Black Monday)


	101. Testament 101: Black Monday

Testament 101: Black Monday

Simon was quite pleased with this performance, the satellites of Tum'aga were draining cities of their souls left and right. "Justine just told me." But right now he converged for other reasons. He met with the other Kartel members: Cadron, Ivar and Marcus, all present as holograms. "Glyph is out of the picture. He has taken the rod, but we never needed it. The good news is, the Pharaohs soul is now free and completed." He smirked and drank some of his sisters fine wine. "Indeed thats good. His powerful soul will feed Zetto well." Cadron snickered. "Instant worlwide access, it sounds to good to be true. All the worlds riches will have to fall into our hands." Marcus gloated. ".." Ivar however was strangely silent. "Something wrong Thorne?" Simon raised an eyebrow. "No, nothing. I just think that leaving those kids flying around is a bad idea." He scoffed. "Relax Ivar, we can handle it. Just make sure that nothing stops the next launch. Everyone is expected to safeguard their branch for the rest of the day, we only need til nightfall."

The duelists had a new plan now. "We can't stop the satellites that are already in the air, but we can prevent further launching. There is only one place in England where they could setup such heavy operations." They were flying on their dragons again. "Normally England uses Australia to send off its rockets and so on. But recently there has been word of a military base in Scotland, sponsored by nameless companies. A lot of money was put in there, and strangely Outerdecks name fell up." Cable once again regretted the ease with which the company surrendered to Tum'aga. "I don't know where it is exactly. We will have to go to the main HQ of UK Outerdeck to find out. Yet I fear Marcus will be there as well." Since he was the new CEO of the business. "And he will not give us the information so readily. We could go there, or we could visit Temple Soft in France." Which was further away. "I can assume that Justine has access to Tum'aga data as well. Or we could go straight for tower 013, but we dont know if they lifted the defenses yet."

In the end they decided to check with Outerdeck first, so they flew to Outerdecks main office. It was a large office in Liverpool, near the financial district. Even this town was evacuated, since it was close by the previous 'outbreak' locations. Once again the Tum'aga army was all over the place, hazmat suits and lab coats in every street. But you couldn't miss the one place they were trying to protect. A large institute diverted into sections, including a five-story tower and a neonlighted corner that had the name 'OUTERDECK' plastered all over it. Marcus was one of the few chairmen to remain in office. His excuse was that he had official connections with the company that tried to stop the plague: Tum'aga. "What?" He was behind his deck, having just left the holographic meeting with the Kartel, when a red warning light went off. "_Intruders?" _It would only switch to red levels when unwanted individuals entered his sector. "SIM, turn on the camera's!" He called out to the AI imbedded in his mainframe, which responded immediately.

A viewscreen descended from the ceiling, it showed images of the city. Both the aerial and the ground view revealed the invaders. "_Them?" _He saw the children and their dragons. "_Tsch, Cable must have lead them to me. They want answers do they?" _He tapped on some buttons, downloaded some data unto a memory stick and left his chair. "SIM, delete all the software on my drive and every drive in this building. I wont need it after this. At the same time, take control off the hazmat patrol. Slow those children down as much as possible." He walked away from the room, put on his coat and smiled. "_You're too late my friend. Project Zetto will make me a rich man, and you wont find the methods to stop it, not here." _He then took the elevator to the helicopter platform, his getaway vehicle awaited. A few minutes later, he was on top of the tower. The chopper already on standby, piloted by SIM as well. Blasts were going off in the background, he assumed that the kids were in full warfare with the now transformed Orichalcos demons. "_Far too late_."

He walked to his escape at a brisk pace, smugly thinking that nothing could stop him now. When suddenly the helicopter blew up in front of his eyes. "Wha!" He was knocked back by the force and landed close to the edge. "They're here?" Next thing he knew, one of the dragons had landed on top of the building. It was Critias, who also carried Jackson, Colin and Cable. "You!" He rasped as he got up again. "Hello Marcus." Fraser said without enjoyment as he saw his former friend. "Tried to run away huh?" Colin sneered. "Too bad these friends of ours can sense souls. There was nobody on the helicopter, so we knew we could blow it up if we wanted too." Critias roared loudly as he explained this. "You wont run away, we need answers Marcus Williams." Jackson said, while Timaeus and Hermos were also getting near. "Feh, you can't get them here. I deleted all my data." He shrugged and got up. "If you want information, you're at the wrong place. Try Justine." He tried to ignore the encounter and walked back to the stairwell.

"Hey, I know you Marcus. I know you wouldn't just get rid of useful knowledge like that. I am willing to wager that you kept it somewhere still." Marcus paused. "And even if you did not, you yourself can still tell us." Cable walked up to him, but Simmons raised his suitcase. "Is that so? You think you know me, old friend? Well then.." He opened his case, and pulled out a dueldisk. "If you want to know more, you will have to best me in a duel. Surely as a fellow card designer, you can not reject a significant match like this." He tried to hide his grin. "You want to stall us?" Jackson cursed. "No, I am making an offer, as a business man. If your card creating friend can beat one of my decks with one of his decks, then I will tell you all you need to know. You better hurry, Tum'aga plans to end this tonight." Fraser already had his disk out. "I dont need to think about it." He inserted his deck. "Shall I start us off? Or are you in too much of a hurry to wait?" Marcus smirked as he started drawing, pausing at the fifth card. "Be my guest"

Cable's LP: 8000 Marcus's LP: 8000

Cable drew only five cards. "Heh, thank you." He drew his sixth card and looked at his hand. "I have always wanted to test you in a duel, but I never found the time. How convenient that I had an opening right at the end of an era." He placed a trap card facedown and a monster in face-down defense mode. "Do you even know what you are talking about, or what Tum'aga is planning?" Jackson grunted in the background. "I already know all there is to know." He ended his turn. Cable drew his own sixth card. "Then let us settle this, Williams. Oh wait I forget, your name has never been that. I am supposed to call you Simmons right?" Marcus smiled wryly. "I wish I could be more diverse, but I did not get a chance to switch out my decks while your company sent half the country after me." He scoffed. "It's only business, you will understand soon." Yet his opponent shook his head. "That is where we are different, where we always have been different. Money comes first to you, enjoyment comes first to me. Thats why I had more success."

"Hit me where it hurts eh?" Simmons chuckled. Cable summoned the Terran Hero Raynor(1900/1800). "I equip it with the Terran Stimpack, which reduces his defense points by 500, but allows Raynor to attack twice!" The warrior fired his first shot, which blasted the facedown monster. It was a little one-eyed demon (600/800) and it was torn to pieces. The second shot hit Marcus directly, however he was not unhappy about this sequence. "You killed my card: Corpse Maker." He started to search through his deck. "His effect will allow me to add a new monster to my hand, if it has less then 1500 defense-points." He claimed the Needle Worm from his deck. "That card. I dont recognize it, your creation perhaps?" Cable ended his turn. "You'd be correct. I made it.". In his turn, he then placed the worm in facedown defense position. "I can guess why, its effect reminds me of The Witch of Black Forest. And when she was banned you just had to make a replacement to fill your needs." Cleo rasped.

Marcus's LP: 6100

_Terran Stim-Pack, Equip Spell card  
This card can only be equipped to a 'Terran' warrior-type monster. A monster equipped by this card loses 500 defense points, and must attack twice in the same battle phase._

_Corpse Maker, 3/600/800 Dark/Fiend  
When this card is sent to the graveyard as a result of battle, you can add 1 card to your hand who's ATK is 1500 or less. Shuffle your deck afterwards_

"I will admit that the banlists have not been kind to me in my younger days. And the metagame has not been kind to my way of dueling. But in the end it's all just cards, which is why I do not target what can be seen on the field. I target what hides in the deck." His theme was Deck Destruction after all. He placed another card facedown and ended his turn. "In other words you are too much of a coward to face duel monsters, now thats sad." She said with a sharp tone. "Well you don't seem to mind, why else would you use those archaic cards? We're more alike then you think." He smirked back, the comment was enough to silence her. And at that moment, Nero and Rose rejoined the scene, running and wheezing."Its true!" They had left earlier to see if they could access the database, and now they came back up the stairwell. "Its all gone, every hard-drive is wiped clean, he erased all Outerdeck data!" They panted. "Thats what I said, wasnt it? I always take precautions." Fraser stared at him. "We will see."

"Draw" And the next card was one that made him flinch. "_I wont use this_." He then sent Raynor to attack again, except this time he did flip his trap. "?" He activated two of them even, a continuous trap: Soulless Tombstone and Warriors Tomb. A strange fog surrounded Fraser, while a coffin trapped his Terran unit. "Warriors Tomb is my version of Sakuretsu Armor, it will destroy any monster thet attacks me." Screams came from inside the coffin, as it and its captive dove back into the ground. "And the second card: Soulless Tombstone, will discard a card from the top of your deck, every time you lose a monster as a result of an effect." A card was discarded from Frasers deck. "Those two creations, I do remember." He moaned and summoned the Terran Wraith (1800/600) in attack position. "I hope you have something new..." Oh I have learned a few new tricks. Like this one." He activated a spell card, Golden Sarcophagus. This allowed a duelist to take one card in their deck, remove it from play, and add it to their hand after two turns.

_Soulless Tombstone, Continuous Trap  
When one of your or your opponents monsters is destroyed by a card effect, you can choose one of the following effects:  
- Send the top card from your opponent's deck to the graveyard  
- Destroy one face-up monster card on the field_

_Warrior's Tomb, Counter Trap  
Activate this card when your opponent's monster attacks. Destroy the attacking monster._

"I use this to remove the monster: Necroface in my deck from play, for two turns. When Necroface is removed, it also removes the top 5 cards on both decks from play." Both decks lost another 5 cards. "Thats a neat combo yes, but it still does'nt have the style that I look for." He also flipped Needle Worm(750/600), forcing another 5 discards from the Terrans deck. "Next, I play Dead Reawakening, my own Burial spell. I give you 900 LP to special summon a monster from my graveyard!" He used it to revive the Corpse Maker (600/800). "Then I sacrifice both monsters for my trump monster, The Grave Wraith." A ghost filled with coffins and crosses came to the field (2600/2000). "I am sure you remember its effect." The cemetery phantom powered itself for every card in Jacksons graveyard. He had 8 cards in the grave, so it went up by 800 points (3400/2000). "Damn thats strong." Colin gasped. "Now then, its time for you to experience my power in its virtual form. A wraith attacks a wraith!"

Cable's LP: 8900

"Then it will miss that wraith!" He smiled and activated the Wraiths effecy; discarding one card from his hand to remove the ship from play, ending his attack. "I see, but your discarded card only makes my zombier stronger(3500/2000)." He paused to stare at the card that was thrown away. "Wait, was that?" He looked stunned. "The Seal? How did you get that!" He protested loudly. "Sorry, Williams. I forgot to tell you. Justine gave it to me, even though she certainly was not a friend. I didnt take it out..again." He drew. "I wonder how many years you spent with Tumaga before you became my partner at Outerdeck." He summoned a Terran Vulture (1300/600) and returned the Wraith from the RFG-zone. "At least that should explain how foolish your thoughts of comradery were, I was never an associate. I am loyal only to Tum'aga, and Creed." He sneered, and then his watch began to beep. "Whats that?" Carter asked immediately. "What, this? Heh, its only a message from Ivar. Saying 'Our fourth satellite has been launched'."

They all gasped. "I see you knew that already, you want to know where he is, dont you?" His lips curled into a malicious grin. "Thats why you came here, it was not for me. I am disappointed." While this was bad news, Jackson was elated. "I felt it!" He looked to the north. "I senses its ascent, I know where they come from now!" Now that they knew this, they could stop the final two launches. "Guess we dont need to waste time with you after all." Cleo laughed. "Hm? I thought you wanted my precious information? Besides, even if you want to leave." His eyes flashed and he played a spell card, his own Seal of Orichalcos. "You wont leave without a soul sacrifice!" The green magic surrounded both players, imprisoning them behind the atlantian magic. "NO, Cable!" Doe shouted. "You cant do that!" Christine said. "I just did, didnt I?" his Grave Wraith (3900/2000) was empowered as well. "You wont run from me, you are the traitor, not me! We will resolve our differences today, Fraser!"

(To be continued in Testament 102: Everyone has a Price)

**New Cards used by Cable Fraser**_  
Terran StimPack_

**New Cards used by Marcus Simmons**_  
Corpse Maker_  
Necroface

-  
Golden Sarcophagus

-_  
Soulless Tombstone  
Warriors Tomb_


	102. Testament 102: Everyone has a Price

Testament 102: Everyone has a Price

Trapped inside the Seal, one soul was doomed to lose the body in this duel. "Before I attack you, I play this card: Discard Limiter!" He shouted. It was a spell that prevented people from discarding cards from their hand. "I designed this card to counteract your creations, heh." Thanks to this card, The Wraith couldnt use its effect to remove itself. "When my monster: Grave Wraith claims a soul, your deck will lose cards equal to the stars of its victims." The ghost roared and cut down the level 4 battleship, while discarding 4 cards at the same time. Each powered up the Grave demon (4400/2000). "Cable, are you okay?" Jackson banged against the walls of the green circle. "Doe, dont stand around. You have a satellite to stop remember, I can handle him!" He told his friend, loudly. "But we.." He did not know what to do. "He has a point, we know where Ivar is, we need you to find him, and fast!" William climbed back on top of Timaeus. "Come on Jackson." The others called out to him. "Damn." Jackson switched voices again.

_Discard Limiter, Quickplay Spell.  
Neither Player can discards cards from his/her hand as a cost during the turn this card is activated_

Cable's LP: 6800

"Cable." He spoke with the voice of Orpheus, the first Persona card that Fraser had made for Jackson. "Cable, if you say we have to go, we will. But you are our friend, for all of us. Please, do not lose." He waved a farewell. "I know." Doe jumped on Timaeus as well. "And I promise!" The three dragons roared and flew away, heading towards the dark power. This left the two to duel alone. "Its true then, what they say. Friendship is cheap, and not worth the money." Simmons chuckled. "Friendship is cheap? You realize what you are saying?" Cable grunted as his turn started. He normal summoned the Terran Hero Duke (1800/1900). At the same time the Terran Vulture layed a spidermine token(100/0) on his field. "Why not, I made friends with you easily enough, and I broke that bond just as quickly." Simmons smirked. "Thats not friendship, Marcus, not at all." He then played two spell cards. "Defensive Matrix, which will switch all non-Terran monsters on the field to face-down defense mode." The Grave Phantom took a defensive stance.

_Defensive Matrix, Normal Spell  
Change the battle positions of all attack monsters that are not 'Terran' monster cards on the field to face-down defense position.  
These positions cannot be changed during the turn this card is activated._

"Even so, his defense is still higher then any of your cards." Marcus pointed. "So I just use this second spell: Ocular Implants!" Duke and the Vulture ship gained new targeting equipment, enhancing their optics and firing range "Now these units can see through your defenses like glass!" The sky unit unleashed a barrage of missiles that destroyed the Wraith without entering the battle phase. "But you destroyed a card with an effect, this allows Soulless Tombstone to discard a card from your deck, eheh." Still, the Terran commander gave the Kartel member a taste of his own ammo, attacking him directly. "Your trump card has been bested." He smiled and ended his turn. "Does it matter, Fraser? The beauty of my deck is that it doesnt need a trump card." He drew again and placed a card facedown. "Thats just what you would say, attachments to cards is like having attachments to people." Cable grunted. "I suppose. But even if they all feel the same to me, to you they dont. And that is what amuses me."

Cable's LP: 5400

_Ocular Implants, Normal Spell  
During this turn, when a 'Terran' monster attacks an opponent's face-down monster, immediately destroy that monster without applying damage calculation._

Two turns had passed since Marcus used the Golden Sarcophagus, so now it opened. "I take Necroface from the Sarcophagus and summon it!" A broken dolls face showed up on the field, tentacles and flesh throbbed inside the cracks(1700/2300). "When this card is normal summoned, all removed cards return to the deck. However." His five cards and Cable's five cards were returned. "It then gains 100 points for each of those cards." The dolls face went up by ten cards (2700/2300). "I attack and destroy the Vulture unit, before it places any more spider-mines." Tentacles shot out from the zombie, and smothered the ship. "Your deck now has 20 cards left." He ended his turn. "Half my deck is gone then." He drew again. "But now its time for my trump card, Simmons. If a turn passes, a spider-mine can be tributed."

Cable's LP: 5400

He sacrificed both the mine-token and Duke. "I tribute summon the Battle Cruiser, flasgship of the Terran armada!" A large 8-star battleship (3000/1500) hovered above the Outerdeck tower. Its cannons all aimed at Necroface. "Fire!" They sent down lasers and bullets until there was nothing left of the tentacle face. "Tsk. You're very much in the way, aren't you Fraser. Always hindering my success." He growled as his enemy placed a trap. "Then what does your success involve, what has Tum'aga promised you?" He was done with his turn. "Feh, once we have installed the six satellites, the world will be our hostage. We can get anything we want." He said with eager eyes. "Hostage? Is that what they want, do you think they will limit such power to that. Could you even control such a power?" He asked. But Marcus only shrugged. "I have been loyal to them for a decade, they wouldnt lie to me. And now its time to end this farce. I am the better duelist, I will show you!" He activated Graceful Charity, drew thrice and discarded twice.

Marcus's LP: 4000

"Spell card: Moving On, my older version of Soul Release." He payed 400 LP and six cards were removed from his cemetery. "Necroface is removed as well, thus five more cards are removed from both our decks." Now Cable only had 15 cards in his deck. "And this is the coup de grace, as Justine often says. Dimension Fusion!" The designer gasped, as his enemy payed 2000 LP for one of the most powerful magic cards in the game. "All removed monsters are special summoned back to the field! And since I have the Orichalcos seal active, I can place monsters in my M/T zone!" He had eight spaces free, so he revived eight monster. Three Undead Legionairres (1900/1900), two Goblin Zombies (1600/1550), a Necrobeast (2300/1700) a Necroface (1700/2300) and the empowered Grave Wraith(3100/2700). At the same time, Cable could summon all monsters that Necroface removed from his deck. Two Terran Marines(1300/1200), Terran Ghost(1800/1000) and a Terran Medic (800/1200). "I win!" He charged first with the Wraith

Marcus's LP: 1600

_Moving On  
Pay 400 LP, select up to 6 cards from you or your opponent's graveyard and remove them from play._

_Necro Beast, 4/1800/1200 Dark/Zombie  
If this card was sent to the graveyard by a card effect, remove it from play and destroy one face-up monster card on the field._

"Not so fast!" But then a compartment opened underneath the Cruiser. "Trap Card, Yamato Gun!" The large wave cannon gathered energy, readying itself to kill all of Simmons monsters. "I saw that coming as well!" He too flipped a trap card. "Spell Eraser, Virus Cannon! I can tribute all eight monsters on my field, to erase 8 spells in your deck" Both cannons fired at the same time, Yamato cannon missed and the Virus Cannon used its eight shots to infect eight magic cards in Frasers deck. "There is more. When an Undead Legionairre dies, you also lose a card." Three were dead, so three more cards were killed. "And when Necrobeast dies, so does one of your monsters!" The Yamato Cannon overloaded and blew up along with the Battleship. "So you see, it worked against you." The soulless Tombstone forced yet another discard, since a monster was killed by Necro's card effect. "3 cards remain in your deck." Finally, when a Goblin Zombie was sent away, the player could add another undead to his hand, as long as its defense was below 1200.

"I lost two zombies, so I add two to my hand." He claimed a Malice Ascendant and a Zombie Master. "I normal summon Zombie Master(2300/500), and use his effect to discard a card from my hand." He tossed away the Ascendant. "To revive a zombie-type!" Only to special summon another Malice Ascendant back from the grave(1500/1200). "During the standby phase, you will have to discard a card from your deck for every Malice Ascendant in my graveyard." There was one, so he had to discard another card. "Now you have two cards left, and next turn you won't be able to draw." Cable drew one of two remaining cards. "None of your monsters can stop me, since I placed the Ascendant in the backrow, you will have to kill the Master first. But you cant, aheheh. I win, Fraser!" He laughed out loud. "No, you lose. Spell card: Terran Bunker." He suddenly removed all four of his monsters from the field, all four Terran warriors.

"Spell Monster." For his ninth and last magic card, which turned into a monster. "I never heard." He thought he new every part of Cable's Terran deck. "Yes, the Bunker. It gains 1000 attackpoints for every sacrificed Terran(4000/4000). You thought your Zombie was safe because I already discarded all my monsters, right? But you didn't know of this card..did you?" The Bunker opened its missile turrets. "It is settled in this turn. You could not beat this deck." And he blew up The Master with a savage volley. "But Marcus." He began to talk as the seal started to shrink. "You lost not to me, but to the power that you allied with." The light encircled Simmons. "I didnt wish this fate on you." He sighed.

Marcus's LP: 0

_Terran Bunker, Continuous Spell  
You can only activate this card if you control at least one 'Terran' warrior-type monster on your side of the field. Remove all 'Terran' warrior-type monsters on your side of the field from play, then special summon this card in your monster card zone(5/0/0 Machine/Earth) (It is still considered as a spell card). This monster's attack and defense points are equal to the number of Terran warrior-type monsters removed through this card x 1000. When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, immediately special summon all Terran warrior-type monsters removed through this card's effect in face-up attack mode._

"You dont have too wish it, pal." Yet then the villain tapped some buttons and the light began to flicker. "What?" Cable took a step back. "You see, Cadron made some modifications to the seal on my behalf. Since I almost lost my soul when I dueled Anima, I asked for help. Now I can negate the soul draining cost of the field spell, eheh." It almost seemed like he was right too. The circle no longer moved. "Marcus.." Only then, it moved even faster. "What, NO!" They were both shocked. "This can't be happening, he promised me." He furiously tapped the control of his wristwatch, he only had a few more seconds. "Override signal, override!" He shouted, but there was no reaction. "No, how is this..possible. SIM respond, respond!" The AI had logged off as well, all equipment shut down. "No, they are all gone.." Only then did it finally hit him, Cadron had never done the modifications he asked for. "He betrayed me. They all betrayed me." Cable tried to get closer, but he was already out of the circle, and could not get back in.

"But I was their ...have always been loyal... Fraser I.." The last seconds of his life were devoted to rambling, and his soul was soon wiped clean by the accursed field. "No!" Cable truly did not wish for this to happen. Marcus Simmons collapsed to the floor. "_Damn it, if only you hadn't..." _He took the card from his deck, and from the opponents. "_They don't care who dies anymore, they will really kill us all just for their power._" He tore the cards into pieces. _"Marcus. I am sorry.." _Cable closed Simmons eyes for him and he carried him back to his office. It was the least he could do, even though he was an enemy. "_Tumaga fooled you as well They preyed on your greed, and twisted you into their shape. I could tell, when you worked at Outerdeck, away from them, you were_.." But as he sat him down in his chair, something fell from his coat. "_Huh?" _It was the memory stick. Fraser picked it up. "_Could this be?" _He already thought that Marcus would not erease all his date if he kept a backup of it. "_Then the answers..."_

"Okay, why again did we split up? Shouldn't taking down Ivar help most of our problems?" Cleo complained as she sat behind Carter. The trip across the sea did not amuse her much. "Because, and listen to this for a change, we still need to take care of the four satellites that are in the sky. Templesoft is less guarded then Tower 0013." Colin told her, and then William took over. "We dont know what they will do now that they know we know their plan. They could fire those things at any seconds, so we need to get access. Marcus said that Ivar only launches the things, but she and Simon have control. So while Jackson Nero and Christine try to prevent more lift-offs, we will take care of the first four. Okay?" She nodded reluctantly. "Ugh I hate explanations." Then the dragons began to grow . "And these things wont keep quiet either." She moaned. "No wait, we are here!" They neared the coast of France, and in the distance was Temple Softs building already. "Well I remember that place, lets pay that whore a visit." Caine felt slightly better now.

But before they got in range, something odd happened. A swift shadow flashed before their eyes, zig-zagging an inch away from their dragons. "The hell?" This presence startled Critias, who got even wilder. "Whoa, whats going on here?" It flashed passed them again, and this time Timaeus became uncontrolled, nearly tossing the duelists off. "Gah, what is wrong with you!" The goth cursed. "Hang on, we have to land!" William tried to calm Timaeus again, however all they could manage was a lowering of their altitude. Before long they were tossed off anyway, once the ground was close enough. "Whoa!" They landed in the sand of the beach. There were some people on the dunes in the background that saw the whole deal. But they ran away as soon as they noticed the dragons. "Okay what just happened here?" Next thing they knew both dragons dropped into the sand behind them. "Critias!" They were knocked unconscious. "He did it!" Their speedy assailant still hovered in mid-air, looking down on the trio. "What the, what on earth are you?"

It was another trenchcoat, which he soon ditched. Behind the coat was a very twisted being, an amalgam of robotic parts. "Those are." What stood before them were the remains of Eidos, Illya and Xifos, combined into one larger cyborg. There was not even one thing remotely human about this entity. "!!!" Will was most upset, since Eidos was the one that played a part in his brothers demise, and he had never even found the body. "You are." Red eyes glared through the visor, it noted each presence. "None..shall..pass." It spoke at last, with a very monotonic and synthesized voice. "Huh?" It hovered down to the beach, landing in front of them. "None shall pass, the sector is off-limits." It repeated. "So you are supposed to be the defender of that witch?" Cleo sneered. "Yes." It did not move, even as it spoke. "Then who are you? My brother is gone, so is Venice, and Edgar is.." He was not allowed to finish the sentence. "Edgar is no more, Xifos is no more. Even he was weak, even he had to be updated...into Sangenma. None shall pass."

(To be continued in Testament 103: Merging of the Assassins)

**New Cards used by Cable Fraser**_  
Defensive Matrix  
Ocular Implants  
Terran Bunker_

**New Cards used by Marcus Simmons**_  
Necrobeast_  
Zombie Master  
Malice Ascendant

-_  
Discard Limiter  
Moving On_  
Dimension Fusion

-  
Spell Eraser - Virus Cannon


	103. Testament 103: Merging of the Assassins

Testament 103: Merging of the Assassins

"Marcus has fallen?" Simon repeated a message from the holonet, without too much sympathy. "How do you know this?" He asked the messenger of this news, Ivar. "I checked the Outerdeck area with the satellite feed. He activated the seal in a duel against Cable, but he lost." He replied. "I see it now. His soul has been registered into the core just recently." Creed merely smirked. "You don't seem concerned, or saddened." Thorne rasped. The leader gave no response. Ivar then checked at his own screens. "And now the rest is headed our way, there is no denying it, they know where I am." His radar showed two blips, one headed towards France. "They split for some reason too, they want Justine as well." The other blip headed for him in Scotland. "I trust that you will guard the two remaining satellites with your life, Thorne. I would hate for a third Kartel member to fail me." He said and right after that he terminated the communication link. "_Then again, as a member of the old Kartel, you are just as replacable as our father was.._."

The same information just reached the area where Justine was working. "Oh Marcus is gone. Hmm, well he was always the boring one." She yawned as she received the report. "Arent you charming when you 'care'." And she was not alone, her accomplice was inside Temple Soft as well. "Cadron, I thought you'd be at the tower by now." She glared at the doctor, whose presence clearly did not please her. "Oh dont be like that, my Loveless. I was merely reflecting on a memory. Your seat at the Kartel belonged to someone else, remember? He had a similar fate to Simmons." He chuckled as he pulled out an Orichalcos card. "The first duel this card had, and his soul was the first to be taken. His relatives, if he had them, had to be proud." He casually tossed it aside. "You dont fool me, Cadron. I know what you did then..and what you did now. You made those cards, you tempered with the fail-safes." She came to the same realization as Marcus did before he died. "You made sure that a soul is absorbed every time." Cadron widened his grin. "Is that why you refuse to use the card yourself?" She looked away again. "Tsch, why should I risk my soul for the likes of children." Just then her warning went off. "Speak off the little hellions."

The message came in that two source of power headed towards her. "The dragons.." Justine flinched. "Bah, I should have seen this coming." She walked towards the console board. "Only two dragons? One is going.." She used the satellite feed to get a closer look, Timaeus with William and Cleo and Critias with Colin. "The third is going after Ivar huh." She grinded her teeth. "I am not ready yet, damn it. I need to reconfigure the mindcontrol mainframe. Since Glyph took the rod, it is harder to calibrate it." Cadron walked up behind her. "Then you still refuse to duel them yourself, you didn't seem to mind a game in the memory world. Of course back there you never were in real danger." He smirked. "Cadron, why did you come here in the first place. If you dont have anything to.." He extended his hand and silenced her with a gesture. "Calm, my loveless. I too have prepared for this. I made something from the remnants of your own experiments." And this became apparent, because a few minutes later, his experiment faced the three duelists.

Before them stood Sangenma, the last remnant of Edgar Diamond. "I knew it. You couldn't face death again and begged her for an even better body. We have no time for a guy like you." Colin scoffed. "No. This was given, forged by Cadron." It then pulled out a dueldisk. "So you won't get out of the way?" They sighed. "Then I will have to teach you a lesson all over again." The seer activated his disk as well. "Wait, Sairve, be careful. He has the same crystal that the other assassins had. If you lose he can claim your soul, even without The Seal." William said with a grim look on his face. "Well better me then you." He barely could believe he said that. "If Andre is somewhere in there still, I wouldn't want to put you through the displeasure of having to defeat him." He inserted his deck into the dueldisk. "Cleo, if I lose, you can have him." Both players drew their cards. "Lets do this then, Edgar. I will even let you go first." He stopped at five. "Fine. But the name is not, Edgar, or Xifos." It replied, sounding a little less robotic this time

Colins LP: 8000 Sangenma's LP: 8000

"Just a question though..." Sairve said as the cyborg drew his sixth card. "What kind of deck will you be using, if you are Edgar, then you probably have the Raviel card." It took the enemy a little while to come with an answer. "All three." It said. "Beg your pardon?" He blinked. "You heard right, the power is combined, all three Sacred Beasts are in this deck." It then summoned to the field, the Chaos Core (0/0). "None shall pass the sacred beasts." Colin remembed what that little demon did, Xifos used it before against Anima. "Its effect activates: discard three demon cards from the deck. Raviel, Uria and Hamon." The Core gained three counters, which would prevent it from dying for 3 attacks. "Then the continuous spell card: Demon Chronicle. By discarding a card from the hand, this card is activated. During the standby phase a high-level demon can be added to the players hand." Sairve knew where this was going. At this rate his opponents would get all three sacred beasts in his hand in three turns. "Turn End."

_Demon Chronicle, Continuous Spell  
Discard one card from your hand to activate this card.  
If this card is on your side of the field during the standby phase, you can discard the top card from your deck to add one level 8 or higher fiend-type monster card to your hand._

"Edgar too liked to use chronicles." He drew a card. "The Murderous Aristocrat(1550/800)." A king coated in blood was normal summoned. "You remember this dontcha? I used it before when you were still a blue assassin." Back then he killed the Phantom of Chaos with it, when he faced the villain in the World of Memories. "It can kill any monster that has a lower level than itself. Regardless of defense, offense or shield counters." The Core was only a level one demon, while the Baron was of the fourth. "Be gone!" The monster struck and killed the little creature, breaking right through its counters. "You may have a new body, but you haven't learned many new tricks have you Ed?" He chuckled. " Tch, Colin." It rasped with its mechanical tone. "I guess it does remember." Caine smiled. "He must be happy to get a rematch."

Sangenma's LP: 6450

"You will be crushed." It stated as it drew. "Chronicle effect activates." He discarded the top card from his deck and added the crimson demon Uria to his hand. "The first, Venice's card." However he did not have enough continuous trap cards active to summon it yet, instead he normal summoned a Chaos Soldier(2000/1500), another famous card of Xifos. "Destroy!" It shouted as the soldier cut down the Aristrocat. Their levels were equal so nothing happened to Sangenma's monster. However its effect stopped it from inflicting damage to the players own lifepoints, so Sairve stayed at 8000. "Set card, Turn End." It definitely sounded angered now. "No need to get spiteful. Edgar, it was not me that killed you. You did that yourself when you joined up with these people." "I mean you had plenty of chances to get out, but you stayed with Tumaga, asking for further upgrades. What would your mother say?" He laughed but the machine still remained silent. "I guess there is no reasoning with you. Eh get it?" And he activated a spell.

He played the spell card Reasoning. "Yeah we get it Colin, and it was lame." Cleo spat. "Eh I didnt ask you. Now anyway. Ed, call a level and I will draw cards until I hit a monster!" Sangenma was silent at first, processing the data on Colins deck. He had several level 7 and 8 cards, but the odds of him hitting a level four were still higher. "Four." Sairve nodded and started drawing. "Even a computer cant deny those odds." He picked up three cards: Ojama Trio, Giant Trunade and Greed Quasar. "Bingo." It was a level 7 so he could special summon it. It gained 300 attackpoints for each of its lifestars (2100/2100). "Now I normal summon The Calculator, this card gains 300 attackpoints for each level on my field." There were nine, two of its own and seven from Greed, so the machine gained nine power-ups (2700/2700). "Double attack!" Both levelpowered monsters raced to take down the Chaos Soldier. "Trap card." However the enemy summoned a strange drone. "Delta Barrier!" Which called out two more drones. "Gah."

Three continuous traps that formed a triangular barrier pattern. "Those cards are Illya's!" The delta shield deflected both his strikes and saved the Soldier. "So he did more then just add the demons to his decks, he added their cards too?" William almost wondered if this meant that he had added the Crystal beasts as well. "Not done yet." He equipped Greed Quasar with the Seal of Royalty-spell card. "With this, I can prevent the destruction of my demon, by giving up four of its stars." He then ended his turn. "Okay." Sangenma assessed the new situation. The Calculator depended on the level of Greed to survive, but Quasar could not be killed in one shot due to The Seal. "Demon Chronicle activation: add Raviel to hand, discard card from deck." Now it had two of the sacred beasts. "Switch Soldier to defense mode. Sacrifice the three barriers for this card!" The traps were sacrificed for the trap demon god, Uria. Whose power went up by 1000 for each of those cards (3000/0). "The target is, Calculator." It went for the robot.

Colins LP: 7700

His machine never stood a chance. It would save the destruction of the demon for Raviel in the next turn. "Heh, you must be very bad at predicting things. Cant you tell what I am going to do next? Obviously I will kill your soldier, absorb its four starts and make my monster stronger than yours." The cyborg did not respond. "Hmph, he talks less than Jackson now. I feel sorry for him, actually." He sighed and drew a card. "Here goes!" Greed opened its jaws, stretched out its claws and sucked in the Chaos Soldier. The demons lifestars were added to his devourers, it had 11 stars (3300/3300). "Deja vu." He was not through with his turn yet. "Spell card, The Rich Get Richer!" He had a level 7 or higher monster on his field, so he could draw two new cards. "Your move Ed." He placed one card facedown and ended his turn. "_Heh, unless he finds a way to summon Raviel or Hamon. Next turn I will kill Uria, and absorb all those stars of hers_." The diviner could only snicker at the thought of so many attackpoints under his control.

But he did not think too far ahead. "Add Hamon." The last demon in the chronicle was added to its hand, the card that Eidos used. "Normal summon Phantom Skyblaster" A demon gunner appeared (1100/800) whose effect summoned skyblaster-tokens (500/500) for every monster on his field. "I forgot..." Two were summoned, since he already had Uria and the Phantom gunman. Then he used the effect of the gunners to fire three shots of 300 damage at Colin. Taking down 900 LP. "...those." Sangenma then removed all three Skyblasters to special summon the second Sacred Beast. 'Raviel!" The blue demon god joined the red, its powers even greater then Greed (4000/4000). "Oh boy." They unleashed their relentless elements, thunder and flames that consumed Quasar. Only because it had the Royal Seal equiped, could it negate its own destruction two times. Four stars for Raviel (2100/2100) and four for Uria (900/900). In the end he lost a total of 1600 lifepoints and 8 stars. "And you have not yet even faced Armitael."

Colins LP: 5200

"Oh god. You are trying to summon that impractical thing again, on your own?" Cleo gasped. "Knowing this guy, I fear he could do it.." William moaned. "Well I am not going to let that happen! I activate the Burden of the Mighty." He used the permanent spell which downpowered all the enemy cards by 100 for every star. (Uria: 2000/0, Raviel: 3000/4000) "Again." Then Sairve summoned a monster. "I flip summon my Beastking Barbaros. Its an eight-star monster..but I could set it without tributes. In which case it only has 1900 attackpoints (1900/1200). However.." He played another card, Star Level Shuffle. "Now I can send a monster to the grave and special summon one with an equal level!" He smirked and sent Barbaros down below. "But Barbaros himself is also level 8, so I choose him!" The Beastking returned at full power (3000/1200) and roared at the dragon beast. "No Armitael for you, I will kill Uria right here and now!" He yelled as the beast swiped his claws through scales and flesh, beheading the red demon.

Sangenma's LP: 5450

"Will you? Is that your prediction, seer?" The machine laughed. "Then it will be the last you ever make!"

Meanwhile back in Great Brittany, Scotland to be precise, Ivar was awaiting the countdown for the fifth rocket, when someone barged into his office. "Sir Thorne, we have visitors." This soldier was actually human, because this branch of Tumaga did not use cybernetic servants. They were too close to the government for comfort. "What now? Can't you stop them?" He yawned. "No sir, you..have to see this for yourself." So he followed the man outside, and stared into the distance. "What am I supposed to.." Then he saw them, the three children on Hermos. "_They are here already?" _The Artlantian dragon moved faster then he had liked. "Sir, what do we do? What is that!" More soldiers barged to the front to see the strange invader. "Launch them." He said softly. "What?" A higher-ranking military man flinched. "You heard me lieutenant, launch them both, fire both missiles. No more delays!" He said it louder this time. "Ehr yes sir." With hesitation he ran off to the relay the message. "_Feh, looks like Sim wont have to wait much longer"_

(To be continued in Testament 104: Three Demons are Better than One)

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve**  
Beastking Barbaros

**New Cards used by Sangenma/Xifos**_  
Demon Chronicle_

-_  
Delta Barrier_


	104. Testament 104: Three Demons are Better

Testament 104: Three Demons are Better than One

Ivar had barely given the order or the dragon was already upon him. "Thorne!" He stopped moving as it landed in the middle of the military base. "Shoot them!" He ordered his men, but they hesitated because a dragon was a rare sight. "Hermos!" Instead Rose ordered the dragon to release fumes across the zone, the heat alone was enough to make them drop their weapons, before they melted between their fingers. "Ivar, you know why we are here, do they know?" Nero rasped as he and Jackson got off. "If you mean the missiles. then." He sneered as a blast went off in the background, one of the silo doors opened and another rocket was fired. "Then you are too late, heh." The others gasped. "I can stop it!" She yelled and was about to take off. "What are you going to do, throw fire at it? That would cause it crash right down on us all, and blow us to kingdom come." Christine paused for a second, and flew off still. "What?" The soldiers looked panicked. "You would risk it!?" Ivar growled. "No, I have a better target in mind." She smirked. She charged a shot and fired it at the silo. "Is there anyone inside that hangar?" The lieutenants eyes widened, but another soldier answered already. "No, its controlled by machines.." Thorne flinched. "You idiot!"

But he was out of time, she nodded and released the flame blast. "NO!" It headed for the silo, with the last satellite inside, and destroyed it. "What did they..who are these people?" The others were all stunned at the power of the monster that stood before them. "Sir Thorne?" Some turned to their supervisor, but he looked agravated beyond his tolerance level. "You failed me, lieutenant." He then pulled out his greenseal card and threw it at the ground. "No look out!" Nero quickly tackled the officer, several soldiers and Jackson also managed to escape it in time. A green circle spread across the area, trapping everyone inside except for the airbound Christine. "What weapon is this?" They all gasped. "I no longer have need for you, sirs. Your lives will merge with the Orichalcum." He picked the card up again, but the seal remained. "Now. Every minute, one soul will randomly be transmitted to Atlantis. This process continues until my own soul is the last one standing, or mine is taken in another way." He laughed maniacally.

Back at the Beach

Colins LP: 5200 Sangenma's LP: 5450

"One down." After he destroyed Uria, Illya's demon god, Colin placed one monster facedown and ended his turn. "Two left to kill you with." Sangenma did not mind at all it seemed. Probably because he was about summon the third. "Triangle Force!" He played a continuous spell. "You need three to call Hamon, dont you. With that card on the field, you still need one more." Cleo stated. "One..or two more." Suddenly two more Triangle Forces appeared. "When Triangle Force activates, so do all of its copies in the deck." Now he had enough spells, to sacrifice for Eidos's beast, he special summoned Hamon the Thunder Lord. However it too was weakened by Buren of the Mighty. (3000/4000) "Its only just as strong as your Barbaros..yet" It also normal summoned Makyura, the Executioner(1200/1200) and allowed Raviel to sacrifice it, increasing its power by Makyura's original attack. (3000 + 1600 = 4600). "Now Raviel is stronger." The machine chuckled, and sent Raviel to crush the Barbaros (3000/ with his fist, ripping it in two.

Colins LP: 3600

_Triangle Force, Continuous Spell  
When this card is activated, you can place two 'Triangle Force' in your deck on your side of the field. If this card is activated, destroy all spell cards on your side of the field during your endphase._

At the same time Hamon sent lightning to smite Greed Quasar for good. "And when Hamon kills a monster!" Sairve received a nasty shock. "Yeah yeah I know, I take 1000 LP of effect damage." Afterwards Sangenma placed one trap card facedown and ended its turn. Meanwhile Demon Chronicle disappeared from the field. "But, now its your turn to take some damage." He smirked as he drew a very handy card. "Remember this?" He laughed as he played the molten demon, Lava Golem. "Yes!" He could offer two of the opponents monsters, to special summon this card. "I sacrifice Hamon and Raviel for Lava Golem (3000/2500)." It would cost him a normal summon, but he already had a monster set that could defend him. "You.." The cyborg sounded annoyed. "Beginning to recall those nice human memories, the past is not that kind is it?" He ended his turn once more. "The past is just that, seer. Just memories. Activate a trap card" He discarded a card to activate a Rainbow-trap. "Rainbow Life?" It was a card that Eidos once used

Colins LP: 2600

Now in this turn all damage to his life would heal him instead. So the lava from the golem restored 1000 of his lifepoints. "And the future you see. It does not exist. Tribute the Lava Golem to summon the Black Chaos Summoner!" He tribute summoned a skeleton fiend (0/0). "Huh what will that do?" And then a pitchblack smoke came from the monster. "When this card is succesfully tribute summoned, the player may pay half his life and tribute the card, to revive the sacred beasts, regardless of their costs!" The summoner decomposed, turning itself into ashes. Then a blue, red and yellow fume spewed from the ground. The earth cracked open and the three demon gods were resummoned. "No way!" Uria(2000/0), Raviel(3000/4000) and Hamon(3000/4000). Because they were properly summoned before, they could be revived. "Now. Fuse into Armitael!" And the merging started. "Goddamn.." Armitael, the lord of chaos came to the field once more(0/0). Its power had not been seen since the assassins dueled together. "He pulled it off." Carter was stunned.

Sangenma's LP: 3225

_Black Chaos Summoner, 6/0/0 Dark/Fiend  
When this card is succesfully tribute summoned, you can tribute it and pay half your lifepoints, to special summon a 'Uria, Lord of Searing Flames'. 'Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder' and 'Raviel, lord of Phantasms' from your graveyard to the field, disregarding their summoning requirements. Monster cards summoned this way can not declare an attack._

"Attack." It wasted no time and struck his facedown card. Using its effect to power up to ten thousand attackpoints (10000/0). The Uria head bit into the set monster, and yet. "Ha!" It could not chew through the pink creature(300/500). "You attacked Marshmallon! It cant be killed in battle, and when its flipped you take 1000 damage!" He planned to stall the Lava Golem with it, but this worked too. "Colin wait, don't forget his Rainbow trap." Will warned him "Oh right." Once more, the enemy was healed instead of harmed. "Well you can use those 1000 points. Because I know what that lords weakness is." Sairve drew a card. "It only gets to use that insane power during your battle phase, not mine." He played a continuous spell, Marshmallon Glasses. Armitael now wore a set of spectacles that blinded him to any target except the pink goo-ball

Sangenma's LP: 4225

"Now that you cant attack anything besides Marshmallon. I am safe to play this" He summoned the monster: Hunted Agent(2200/0). "You remember this too, dont you?" Since Sangenma's hand was empty, Hunted AAgent would not let him special summon a card. "You can not run from the past, Ed." The monster attacked and left a small cut in the demon gods chest. Not enough to destroy it, however 2200 damage transferred to its controller. "I can see only one future for you..." He had the enemy trapped. Armitael would not be able to stop Hunted Agent from biting away at its lifepoints, as it could never die in battle. "It's your turn now Ed." And all the cyborg did was placed a card down "End turn." Marshmallon was in defense, attacking it was pointless. "If this hits, he will win?" Cleo was surprised at how easy this looked

Sangenma's LP: 2025

"Here I go!" Sairve placed a trap as well, and struck. "Permanent Trap card!" And it was at this point that he flipped his continuous trap: Spirit Barrier. "Damn it!" He could not lose lifepoints as long as he had a monster on his field. "We should have seen that coming, that was one of Illya's traps. You combined your deck well." William cursed. All the Agent did was leave another cut on the beasts body, both wounds were only superficial, and this one did not transfer to Edgar. "Now we're both stuck." He ended his turn. "No.." Sangenma drew his card. "Not anymore." And he activated the quickplay spell, Mystical Space Typhoon. Which he used to wipe out the Marshmallon Glasses. "Argh!" Now that the spectacles were gone, Armitael could see the Hunted Agent and kill it. "Just die." Sangenma growled and charged with the chaos lord (10000/0), sending flames from Uria's jaw to incinerate Colins monster. "Whoa whoa, not so fast Ed!" He narrowly escaped death as he activated his trap card.

"I play the trap card, Trap Harmonization, which allows me to copy the effect of a continuous card that is already on the field." He shouted as his monster burned to a crisp. "I mimic the effect of your Spirit Barrier for this turn, allowing me to escape without taking damage, since I still have a monster on my field." So his monster died, but the copied spirits nulled the rest of the 10000 attackpoints. "That's lucky." Caine smirked. "But it will only last for one turn." Carter added gloomily. "Yeah thanks I didn't know." Colin said sarcastically. "Colin Sairve.." The machine sounded displeased as usual and ended its turn. "You say that your opponent runs from the past, but you...you run from the future. You can not defeat this power, seer." His turn was over. "I can't? Hmm, then what will this do!" He revealed 'that' card. Between his fingers was the Fang of Critias. "Surprise!" The darkblue dragon descended from the clouds, taking its part in this duel. "The past explained it to you, eh? This card can integrate with my traps.."

_Trap Harmonization, Normal Trap__  
This card remains face-up on the field until the next endphase, you can activate one of the following effects  
__- This card gains the continuous effects of a card on your opponents side of the field.  
- Negate the continuous effects of a card on your opponents side of the field._

"I place a card down. And integrate Critias with it. That is... Trap of Darkness. I fusion summon. I think its called the Dark Core Dragon, lets use that name!" A throbbing fleshy mine attached itself to the dark dragon, its veins covered the beast with a golden aura. The two merged into one being, a blacker more armored dragon, with tentacles that dug into the sand. "The Dark Core can remove a trap from play, and reactivate it inside itself. At the cost of 1000 LP. Therefore I pay a thousand to integrate Trap Harmonization. Suddenly Critias opened its wings and the reflection of Armitael was inside. "It now harmonizes with Armitael, and cancels its abilities out." The mirror image flew out of the wings, attacked its true self, and impaired its abilities. "Now go, Critias, bite it to death!" The dragon roared, disengaged the veins and flew towards the head of the towering phantom god. Its mouth opened and released a wide burst of golden energy that erased the head of Sangenma's demon fusion. Since its immortality had been shut down, it died just like a normal monster would. "I win, Edgar!" However his life stayed the same due to Spirit Barrier, and he did not look worried at all. "He is...laughing? What is he so happy about!"

Colins LP: 1600

_Dark Core Dragon, 8/2800/2600 Dark/Dragon/Fusion__Trap of Darkness + Fang of Critias  
During your main phase, you can pay 1000 LP to select 1 trap card in your graveyard.  
The effect of this monster becomes the same as the selected trap card. The selected trap card is then removed from play._

They could barely hear it, but he did make a sound that resembled laughter. "Was hoping for this." It chuckled as the clawshaped dueldisk on his hand produced a new card. "Cadron said it only comes out when the dragon reveals itself." He took the card out, it had a pale green glow. "You did not know did you?" The cyborg stared at them. "There is a fourth. Tumaga gave it, a power from the past. Critias might recognize him." He summoned the green light. "Wing of Socrates!" The light took a familiar form, that of a dragon. "It is the writer of the dialogue trilogy. But also, the fourth sword." Socrates the dragon had now fully manifested itself(2800/2600), and glared at Critias. "But there were only three openings in the pedestal!" William protested. "Thats because all those swords were based on this model. And also, unlike your three beasts, this one was corrupted by the seals power." The Orichalcos mark showed up on the dragons forehead as a scar. "Cadron made this card. Lets show you its effect, seer." It spread its wings and in turn Critias was reflected inside it. "As the ascendant of the claw, fang and eye, it can mimic their powers, no...it will mimic their entire being." The reflection of the blue dragon opened its wings.

Sangenma's LP: 1050

_Wing of Socrates, ?/?/? Dark/Dragon  
Wings of Dark Harmony, 8/2800/2600 Dark/Dragon/Fusion_

_Wings of Socrates + Dark Core Dragon  
This card can not be special summoned, except by removing a face-up 'Wings of Socrates' when a 'Dark Core Dragon' is face-up on the field.  
Pay 1000 LP to give this card the continuous effects that were negated or copied by 'Dark Core Dragon'._

It revealed not the image of Socrates, but of Armitael. "Meaning that it can fuse with the last card that your dragon fused with." It combined with Trap of Darkness and Trap Harmonization at the same time, but its appearance did not change. Its powers however raised. "You understand what this means dont you?" The mirror Armitael took over the image of Critias inside the green dragons wings, and empowered its controller (12800/0) "It imitated the Chaos Lord?" Cleo gasped. "It is over, you have no future, because you are but a man." Sairve said nothing as the superstrengthened Socrates slaughtered his own dragon. It did even more then that, it literally ate Critias, until nothing was left. "And now for your soul, it will join Atlantis." Since his lifepoints had dropped to zero, the spirit could be claimed in the name of Tumaga. "No!" The cyborgs claw swiped across his body, cutting into his very mind. "Gah, I read it...wrong." A sphere of light was held within Sangenma's hands, the soul of Colin Sairve. The body collapsed.

Colins LP: 0

(To be continued in Testament 105: Dialogos Apologia)

**New Cards used by Colin Sairve**_  
Trap Harmonization_

**New Cards used by Sangenma/Xifos**  
Makyura the Destructor_  
Black Chaos Summoner_ (+)_  
Wing of Socrates_

-_  
Triangle Force _(++)

-  
Rainbow Life  
Spirit Barrier

(+) Based on the card used by Marcel in YGO GX Season 3  
(++) Based on the card used by Dark Johan/Jesse, also in GX Season 3


	105. Testament 105: Dialogos Apologia

(Testament 105: Dialogos Apologia)

"So the sixth launch has been prevented?" Simon asked the holograms of Justine and Cadron. "Not to worry, from here we can rearrange the five satellites we already have. The fifth is achieving orbit as we speak. Once its stabilized itself we can alter the pattern." Loveless said to her superior. "These kids sure are determined though." Cadron added as he observed both Ivars encounter and Sangenma's success. "And the third dragon may come our way soon." He could not hide his cheerful expression, he was enjoying this chaos. "Meh, let them. The Millenium Rod program will soon be online again. That is if they can get through my army and creations." She smirked. "It almost sounds as if you want them to break in." Simon sighed. "But you might as well, anything to delay them. Just remember to head to tower 0013 in the next hour, we have to move everything to the Atlantis site." He told her and then shut down the comlink. "Hm I see. Well in that case, I will have to get airborne, wont I?" Cadron looked puzzled. "To the sky?"

Colins LP: 0

Colin collapsed, his soul was taken from him, by the cyborg. "You.." William ran up to the body, Cleo stayed behind, motionless. "You can't be human. How can you do this?" He cursed. "You forwarded my brother, lured Venice, allowed them all to be changed into..into those monsters! And you don't even mind as long as you get more power!" The enemy did not respond immediately, he waited a for a while, only to start while William still panted. "You are standing on the side that will lose. Edgar stood on the same side, until Jacob came and showed him how foolish he was." He turned around, looking away from the group. "Where are you going?" Caine hissed. "To the winners." Just then the started to rumble, cracks formed in the dunes and grasslands. "The hell?" Cleo fell down due to the tremors.

She saw something she never expected to see. A section of Templesofts building was slowly but surely lifiting itself into the air, discarding the first floor, wallparts and pillars to turn into a more aerodynamic object. People around started to panick, car alarms went off and smoke filled the surrounding area. "That woman is ..crazy!" Sangenma started to hover as well. "Edgar!" William shouted. "William, if you wish to avenge those names you mentioned, then you and your dragon can head to that place. Socrates will await you there." He blasted off and flew towards the Temple airship. "Come back here!" The Templesoft building flew, but flew slowly. It headed for the sea, towards Brittain. "What is she doing anyway, going towards tower 0013?" Caine got up again and looked at Carter, they would need Timaeus for this. "Hey, we have to follow them right?" But she also saw Colins lifeless body, and sighed. "We can still save him, you know. So don't go spacin out on me. Do you hear me?" Yet he seemed to stunned to even hear her.

Back at the army area, Ivar sprung his own trap. A seal that slowly sucked out the souls of all the people inside, all the soldiers, duelists, but not Ivar. Nobody could bypass the energy wall, all of their equipment shorted out. "I suppose thats one of Justine's modified seals." Jackson Doe cursed. "No, I made this version myself. It uses the satellites as a remote source." No equipment except what was made by Tum'aga, could work here. "One down, so many to go." In the background one trooper collapsed. "So to get out, we need to beat you." Nero sighed. Only their dueldisks worked, they would have to duel him. "You used us, for this sick weapon?" The army base's officer said as another one of his men fell. "It was you that released the disease, wasn't it!" He shouted. "Not a disease, but yes, yes we were. However you I am not interested in, these two are the ones that pain me." He glared at Doe and Jacobus. "You have been a thorn in Sims eyes for far too long. I will erase your interference."

"Guys?" Christine flew around the dome, trying to blow it open with dragonfire. "I can't get through." She cried. "Don't bother. If I were you I would worry about Temple Soft and Tumaga, eheh. They have the controls to the satellites, we only launch them." He said with a smirk. "If you think we need six for our plan, think again. We can align the five stations for 80 % efficiency, it will take an hour or two. You won't find anything here anymore." She started to look worried again, however Jackson made the choice for her. "Rose, take Hermos and go to Temple Soft. We can handle Ivar." He yelled. "Well okay..." Reluctantly she accepted and took off. "You abandon friends often dont you?" The Kartel member chuckled. "I saw how you handled Marcus. You will be happy to know that your friend survived. But he accomplished nothing." He took out his dueldisk "Neither will you, you shall all perish here. The question is." More soldiers in the background dropped down. "Can you defeat me before its your turn?" Nero stepped up. "I will."

Nero's LP: 8000 Ivars LP: 8000

Both players activated their disks and drew from their decks. "Nero Jacobus Sullivan, eh?" Ivar drew six cards, he didn't even wait for his opponent to claim the first turn. "If I remember correctly, you entered the tournament illegally." He smirked, placing three cards facedown and and summoning a Chainsaw Insect (2400/0). "And what off it?" Then it was the hero's turn and he drew his sixth card. "Oh its just a little detail that I didnt expect. Who knew that a kid like you could become such a disturbance." Before Nero could do anything else, Thorne had flipped his trap card: Greed. "Allow me to demonstrate how I play my duels. " Next he flipped the trap card: Disturbance Strategy. It forced both players to send back their hand and drew a new hand. "A pun?" Nero had six cards in his hand so he drew six new cards. "Greed is my trump card. It takes away 500 LP every time a card is drawn outside the draw phase." Meaning Jacobus lost six times 500 LP for his six new cards. "I wont be taken in like that...I will just have to.."

Nero's LP: 5000

However he was trapped again, this time Ivar played the quickplay spell card: Hand Destruction. Replacing 2 cards from both players with 2 new ones. "Gah, stop that!" He had lost another 1000 because of that. "But he lost lifepoints too!" A soldier shouted, noting that Ivar was down to 7000 lifepoints. "Of course, Greed affects all players." Ivar explained, unimpressed with the damage he took when Hand Destruction had given him 2 new cards as well. "A minor cost to push my enemy closer to his end." He smirked.

Nero's LP: 4000 Ivars LP: 7000

"We shall see. Take this!" Nero first played Future Fusion, sending Sparkman and Bladedge to the grave to delay the fusion of Plasma Viceman. Then he normal summoned a Neo-Spacian Black Panther(1000/500). "Next, spell card: Revoke Fusion. I can discard Polymerization from my hand to activate it." He then took Glow Neos from his fusion deck and showed it to Ivar. "I can now special summon one of this cards fusion materials from my hand." He selected E-Hero Neos (2500/2000). "Contact Fusion!" The warrior merged with the panther to become Black Neos (2500/2000) "Also I play the equip spell: Instant Neospace. " This would keep Dark Neos on the field permanently. "Black Neos can negate the effects of monsters." He sealed Chainsaw Insects effects. "I attack it!" The Neo warrior slaughtered the Bug.

Nero's LP: 4000 Ivars LP: 6900

Yet a card came from his disk none the less. "What?" He had lost another 500 LP "Childish fool. You can not negate the effect of monsters if they are dead upon resolution." Nero grunted and placed a trap facedown. "I can see now that you never could have entered legally." Ivars turn came up again. "But even you will know what this does: Premature Burial." He payed 800 LP revived a monster from his graveyard: Kuraz, the Light Monarch(2400/1000), which he had discarded through Hand Destruction. "This is a new type of monarch. When this card is special summoned, I can destroy two cards on the field." He smiled and targeted the Dark Neos as well as his trap card. "And then the controller of those cards can draw cards." He laughed out loud. "Can?" However his chuckling stopped when the opponent found the loophole. "In other words: I can deny that gift?" He seemed very happy with that news. "So you got a little wiser after all. You are correct. And this monster can not attack in the same turn as it uses its effect"

Nero's LP: 3500 Ivars LP: 6100

However, I only used Kuraz to clear a path." He could still normal summon and attack, he called out the Sasuke Samurai 3, the third in a series of four (1000/1000). "No, not that card!" Jackson gasped. "Severing Samurai # 3 has the special power to force the opponent to draw 7 cards when it inflicts damage to him." His warrior struck his long twin katana's across Nero. "The fact that your hand is empty equals seven draws." Seven cards came from the dueldisk, and Greed took down 500 LP for every one of those seven. "No.." His life had been reduced by 3500 points total, meaning that he had run out. "I lost?" He dropped to his knees, Jackson was stunned.. Ivar turned to the symbolist with a wry grin. "Next." And still more soldiers fell. "Our lives hang in the balance of those two?" The ones still standing could not believe it. "Can't we just knock him out?" Another suggested. "Yes, that would be clever, if you take me out, nobody will be able to stop the seal. Only I can deactivate it. And if you kill me... you dont want to know.."

Nero's LP: 0

Nero was exhausted from the duel. "Why didn't you take my soul?" He asked in between his wheezing. "Because I didn't activate the seal during the duel, of course. The process of the current seal is random. You can try to duel me again if you wish, but you have already seen that that would be a pointless ordeal." He glanced at Jackson Doe. "How about you, the winner of the tournament. Certainly you would do better then the illegal immigrant here." He chuckled and reshuffled his deck. "I guess I asked a rhetorical question, you are the only challanger left. Unless you quit right here and now." He placed the deck back into his dueldisk. "You know the answer too then." Doe also added his cards to his own disk. "As per usual, it is me who will begin the duel." He drew six cards

Jacksons LP: 8000 Ivars LP: 8000

"I set a monster card facedown, and three trap cards. That is all." He chuckled. _"That is all huh.."_ Doe frowned and then he drew. And he did not have to do much else to get the pleasure of seeing Thorne's ace card. "I activate Greed." His continuous trap cursed the field already. "I also play the quickplay spell card: Hand Destruction. We both discard two cards...oh wait, I guess you dont need to be told what it does." He smirked as he discarded two cards from his hand, while a reluctant Jackson discarded two monsters from his. Both players then drew two new cards, and the continuous trap took effect, taking 1000 of their LP away. "Finally I activate Solemn Wishes!" A second continuous trap appeared which healed Ivar. "I gain 500 lifepoints each time I draw cards."

Jacksons LP: 7000 Ivars LP: 7500

Then at last Jackson could make his move. "Asura." His first Persona for the duel would be the symbol of the Sun, the six-armed three faced Asura(1400/1000). "Hmph, attack." His voice changed accordingly, as he adopted the persona of the deity. "Slay!" It cut through Ivars facedown monster. It was a small blue one-eyed critter. "You killed Hiro's Shadow Scout(650/600). Do you know what it does?" Three cards came from Jacksons disk. "You have to draw that many draw cards. And if there are any spells among them, you must discard them." The cards were Siegfried, Symbol of Cups and The Tarot. Since the latter was a spell, it was thrown away. He still took 1500 damage however. "Hmph, insolence." Asura Doe scoffed and placed a trap card. "Augh." And in the background another trooper died, Ivar did not even bat an eye. "Better hurry, we're down to half." He chuckled. "Damn it, dont you even care about your own men, you worked with them didnt you?" Nero rasped. "My men? Feh, they are as much my followers, as the Kartel follows Sim Creed."

Jacksons LP: 5500

_Asura - Symbol of the Sun, 4/1400/1000 Light/Fairy  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: When the last effect resolves, choose one face-down monster, and flip it face-up.  
Spell: When the last effect resolves, select a face-down card, if its a spell card, turn it face-up. If it is not a spell card, turn it back face-down.  
Trap: When the last effect resolves, select a face-down card, if its a trap card, turn it face-up. If it is not a trap card, turn it back face-down  
(the effects of these cards are activated if possible, if not, they are sent to the graveyard)._

"Everyone is discardable. I learned that the hard way." He drew a card and Solemn Wishes healed him for 500 points again. "Sim Creed, you mean the father of Simon and Simone?" Jackson asked. "No, not the father, merely the mentor. He adopted them." He said the word 'adopted' with a visible strain on his expression. "And when he died of radiation poisoning, they abandoned all his teachings and went for project Zetto. Pfeh. They even created that mock AI to imitate their dead fake father." He spat at the ground. "But I will let you in on a secret: they wont get anywhere without me. Unlike Marcus I can not be replaced." He summoned his handy Chainsaw Insect (2400/0) in attack mode. "By now the fifth satellite will be in the air, except they wont be able to use it to ressurect the power inside Atlantis, because.." He revealed a strange remote on his wrist. "I implemented override codes in each and every one of them. I can take back control right from under their nose. The Chainsaw jaws came for Asura. "Protection from One's Mind!" But Jackson flipped a trap card. "I negate your attack!"

Ivars LP: 8000

He sent two monsters from his grave back to the deck to stop the Insect. "Gheh, I see you put the cards discarded earlier to good use. No matter, you still need to draw a card for doing battle with this Insect. Your trap does not skip the damage step." Ivar gloated as another card came from Jacksons disk, and Greed took down 500 of his lifepoints. "It might take longer than Nero, this duel of ours, but you will fall nonetheless." He placed two more cards facedown and ended his turn. "Draw." Jackson gained a spell card. "And in less then two turns you have reached the halfway point." But Ivar did not wait. "I activate Gift of Greed. My opponent draws two cards." Doe flinched, now he had to draw and lose 1000 lifepoints. "Just watch me, personae. Once I defeat you, I shall adjust the patterns of the five beams to revive the project that Sim himself had in mind!"

Jacksons LP: 5000

(To be continued in Testament 106: Draw 22)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
Elemental Hero Dark Neos

-  
Revoke Fusion

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**_  
Symbol of the Sun - Asura_

**Cards used by Ivar Thorne**  
Chainsaw Insect  
Kuraz the Light Monarch  
Sasuke Samurai # 3  
Hiro's Shadow Scout  
-

Hand Destruction  
Premature Burial

-  
Greed  
Disturbance Strategy  
Solemn Wishes  
Gift of Greed


	106. Testament 106: Draw 22

Testament 106: Draw 22

Jacksons LP: 4000 Ivars LP: 8000

Jackson faced Ivar, whose main combo it seemed was combining draw cards with Greed. Like Gift of Greed, which let him draw twice, but forced him to lose 1000 LP. "Now I will play my continuous trap: Appropriate. It triggers when the opponent draws outside his draw phase. From now on, every time you draw outside of your draw phase, I can draw two cards from my deck." He was counting on a certain Chainsaw Insect to help him with that. "But at that rate you will burn out of life before Jackson!." Nero cried out as Ivar lost another 1000 lifepoints. "You forgot about my other trap." He pointed at Solemn Wishes. "This one heals me when I draw normally too. So it all evens out." He gained back 500 points. "Now, lets see what you have to offer me." It was still Doe's turn. "I play two spell cards: The Soulnado and Tartarus Tower!" A green tower appeared. At the same time a tornado of spiritual energy flowed next to it. "The former strengthens my symbols. But the latter will give my lifeforce when I summon a new one." He tributed his Sunsymbol Asura to tribute summon Siegfried Strength(2800/2200). "The Symbol of Strength can be tribute summoned with one sacrifice, if it gives up all direct attacks." Positive energy came from the Tornado, and healed him with 500 LP.

Jacksons LP: 4500 Ivars LP: 7500

_The Soulnado-Tornado of Souls, Continuous Spell  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona' monster card.  
As long as this card remains on the field, each time a 'Persona' monster card is succesfully summoned, you gain 500 life points,  
and each time a 'Persona' monster succesfully attacks and destroys an opponent's monster as a result of battle, your opponent loses 500 life points._

"Your foul servant will be vanquished by this blade." Siegfrieds sword pierced the bug, and sent it to the grave. Because he did battle with the Insect, another card was drawn. This reduced the life he had gained. However the Soulnado had a second effect. "When a Persona slays a monster, the owner will lose lifeforce." Ivar lost 500 point to effect damage as well. "So you damaged me at last, but at what price?" Thanks to Appropriate, he could draw two new cards. He lost 1000 points but gained 500. "I set two cards and end." Jackson had so many cards that he was forced to place them down, or else he would overflow the hand limit. "Then is is my turn." Ivar drew and Solemn Wishes granted him life once more. "Apropos, I have to thank you. With that appropriation, I drew this." He played the field spell: Seal of Orichalcos, which surrounded both players alone, and shattered the Tartarus Tower (Siegfried: 2600/2000). "What, a seal inside a seal?" Nero gasped. "Indeed, Jacksons skills warrant the regular fields presence." He placed a monster facedown, it was Destiny Hero Defender. Its defense was far greater than Siegfrieds offense.

Jacksons LP: 4000 Ivars LP: 6600

"All of your personalities will serve my cause well." He was done with his turn. "Your cause?" Jackson repeated with a suspicious expression. "You truly do not intend to follow Simons orders?" Ivar cringed when that name was mentioned. "Please. That kid is not worthy of having the Creed title, nor was his older sister. They were spoiled brats, forcing the company to shift from mining to games. Just because of the ties that Atlantis had with the monsters you see before us." He started laughing. "I wonder if you can understand what I am saying. It was not Egypt but Atlantis that developed the power first. I would know, I was there with Sim when he found the buried city, found its secrets"

"After the first series of excavations, he located it. By this time he had already claimed all patents to Orichalcum and started himself a fortune. He only trusted a select group to help him, the rest of the mining was automatic. Not everyone lived, only five people dug their way into the city's ruins. Us: Creed and his original Kartel" He smiled. "We were astounded, marveled at its glory, its beauty, its stories. We had found the legendary sunken city, we could have become legends ourselves. And yet it was already too late for us, corrupted by the minerals radioactivity." And his smile turned into a frown. "One by one they died, Sim was the first to go. His adopted heirs 'fired' all of his accomplices, they only kept me around since I kept quiet. All his work and dreams were for nothing, he wanted to restore the Atlantian legacy." But Nero had a question. "Then, if he only wanted that, then why are you claiming souls in his name?"

"Because, that process also requires sacrifice, its the cost of Orichalcos. Once you start using it, there is no way back." He sighed. "You are lost." Jackson finally entered his turn. He activated his facedown card, Law, Balance & Justice. By discarding two cards from his hand, he could discard cards from Ivars hand as well. "You chose the seals magic, even if you knew it had killed your master." Except he still had more cards then Thorne, so instead he could destroy his monster. "Or did you choose it, because of that?" So D-Hero Defender (600/3200) was sent to the cemetery. However the knight still could not declare a direct attack. "You know all you need to know, Jackson." Finally Doe summoned the Soulless Symbol of Cups (800/600) in attack mode, though the Soulnado did not restore his life since it was Soulless. "I will use every spirit here to fuel the stone, to repower the sunken city." Ivar drew his card.

Ivars LP: 7100

_Soulless Symbol of the Cups, 4/800/600 Light/Fairy  
When this card is summoned, you can put a counter on this card for each 'Persona' monster on your side of the field.  
During your standby phase, you gain a number of life points equal to the number of counters this card has x 1000.  
This monster cannot be attacked if there is a 'Persona'monster on your side of the field._

"But I wont drain the world to awaken the power so that they can use it, I will sacrifice them as well. Justine, Cadron, Simon, they will all die for Sims sake." Another soldier collapsed. "Heh, it appears my lecture has taken up another victims time. I guess I am awful." He played a spell. "And so is this: Card Destruction!" The duelist was stunned. "Both players must empty their hands and then refill it!" He had four cards to discard in his hand, so he would draw four times. "I myself discard only two, and then Appropriate allows me to draw two new cards." Meanwhile Greed inflicted 2000 damage to Jacksons lifepoints. "I drew six cards, so I took 3000 damage. But I drew twice, so I gained back 1000!" He still did not mind all the damage he was taking. "And now, for this card!" He revealed Morphing Jar # 1, he felt confident enough to show it to his enemy before he placed it down. "No way!" Jacobus yelled. "Ah, even you can grasp the fatality of this card. As soon as its flipped, Jackson will have to draw five new cards, and lose the rest of his lifepoints!" He set the jar in facedown defense position.

Jacksons LP: 2000 Ivars : 5100

"Just like the last one, over so soon. This game is childs play after all, it suits runts like you." He placed a trap as well. "Marcus had the right idea with deck destruction, these cards mean so little to me. I would much rather strike the face behind them, the annoyance." He was done. "But as you said, I am special." First the Cups Soul gave him 1000 lifepoints, since it had 1 counter on it. Next he normal summoned another Arcana, Cybele of The Lovers (1800/700) "We have many faces, those of power and those of healing." Cybele's effect allowed her to give LP every time a card effect was activated. Plus the Soulnado granted Doe with 500 more lifepoints. "And we will not fall for your trap, you can not have us again." Then he activated Mind Impact. He sacrificed the Soulless Symbol, to destroy all monster cards that had a lower original attack. "Tsk." Thus the weaker Jar was sent to the grave, without getting its flip effect. Meanwhile Cybele gained her trap effect and gave the duelist 700 lifepoints. "And now a direct attack."

Jacksons LP: 4200

She was about to strike, when the Kartel member flipped his trap. "Call of the Haunted!" He revived a monster from his grave, Kuraz the Light Monarch (2900/1500) "That again!?" Of course they both remembered its devastating effect. "I wont have to explain, do I?" Kuraz destroyed two cards on the field, Cybele and Siegfried, in one sweep. "Quickplay spell card: Dark Hour!" But the symbolist played a quickplay spell from his hand to save Cybele from its own destruction. She reacted twice again, 700 lifepoints for Call of the Haunted and 600 lifepoints for Kuraz. And thankfully, Jackson did not have to draw cards when Kuraz asked it to. "You test me, Personae. Yet you can not win." His turn started, the Solemn Trap did its usual work.

Jacksons LP: 5500 Ivars LP: 5600

"I will not fail the legend, I will become it. I summon the Bistro Butcher." A butcher monster appeared, it was also powered up by the Seal(2300/1500). "When it kills a monster, you must draw two cards, hah! But first, why dont I help you suffer a bit?" He activated Swords of Revealing Light. Sealing Doe's monsters for three turns. "No reason not to play a good spell when I draw one. Especially when it hurts you." Cybele's negative spell effect was activated, damaging Jackson for 1000 points.. "Tch."Then Jackson faced an attack from the Bistro cleaver and the Monarch. Cybele was quickly butchered, forcing Jackson to draw twice and lose 1000 lifepoints to the Greed trap. "This means I get to draw two more cards from Appropriate!." Ivars life switched around as well. "And next attacks Kuraz!" At the same time, the light monarch gave him a direct attack, bombarding the symbolist with holy magic. "Trap card!" At that point he activated his continuous trap: Alteration of One's Mind. "All monsters that attack me, lose 500 attackpoints afterwards." Kuraz (2400/1500) and Bistro (1800/1500) lost their boost again. . "Meh. Turn end."

Ivars LP: 5100 Jacksons LP: 100

"..You know, we were thinking." He/she then spoke with a nasty voice, as he drew a new card. "About why you are so fixated on Sim. We have an answer.." He chuckled and summoned Scathach (1500/1600). Her effect allowed him to discard a spell from his hand, to destroy one spell. He chose the Swords of Light. "A crude joke perhaps?" Ivar shrugged. "No, we are serious. It is obvious." He also played the spell card Evoker, to revive from the grave, the Devils Symbol Abbadon (2700/2400). This was his current voice. "_Psh, he discarded that through Card Destruction_" The summons drew in 1000 LP from the soul tornado. Abbadon then gained its spell effect which reduced the enemy's attack by half. (Butcher: 800/1500, Kuraz: 1200/1000). "It is a sin, I sense it." Abbadon licked his teeth. "Envy.." And then it swallowed the Monarch whole. This left Scathach to finish off the Bistro Killer, both deaths allowed the Soulnado to drain 1000 of Ivars LP. "Envious of who?!" Thorne protested. "Obviously of the twins!"

Jacksons LP: 1100 Ivars LP: 1900

"Them? You have got to be joking." He hissed. "No we are not, we can tell. You harbored feelings of jealousy towards them, because they were Sims heirs, not you." He flinched, which showed that it was somewhat true. "You hate them, not because they went against their father, but because he did not choose you to succeed. In fact, what makes you even think he cared about you or Atlantis in the first place. Maybe this is what he wanted after all, to wipe out the world for the sake of power!" Abbadon shouted as it went back to the grave, since Evokers only worked for one round. "No, never, never you hear me!" Ivar drew, and placed a monster facedown. He also placed two trap cards down. "He would not lie to me! You dont know him at all." He concluded, both his rant and his turn. "No. But I know you, now." He drew, and tried to activate Velvet Room, a spell card. "You overestimate yourself, symbolist!" Alas he chained with the counter trap, Dark Bribe, negating his spell. Instead he had to draw from his deck, so Doe lost 500 LP. And Ivar drew twice again. Losing the 1000 lifepoints he gained from those last two draws.

Jacksons LP: 600 Ivars LP: 1900

"Dont I?" He asked as Ivar in turn appropriated two new cards. "What?" And Scatach shifted to her trap effect when Dark Bribe was used. "Trap destruction?" Nero gasped. "Indeed." The Priestess discarded a trap from her hand, and forced the destruction of all other traps. "No!" Solemn Wishes, Greed and Appropriate were sent to the cemetery at last. No longer was there a curse on drawing outside the draw phase. "Now we will get somewhere." Another Persona came, Seth of the Moon (1400/1000), the gift from the soulnado negated the cost of that one draw. "Dual attack." Scathach killed his facedown monster, inflicting 500 effect damage. "Its not the end yet, Doe's." He coughed, they had flipped the monster. "Cat of Ill Omen(1000/800)." And he searched through his deck. "Its death allows the player to place a trap on top of his deck." There was only one he wanted of course. "Greed." He sent it to the top, and in his draw phase he would draw it. "There is still me!" and Seth attempted to give him a direct attack. "Fool!" But Ivar flipped his trap, Negate Attack, to end the battle phase. "I let you kill my facedown monster. But this is far as you go!"

Jacksons LP: 1600 Ivars LP: 1400

Jackson did nothing else but place a trap, it was Ivars turn. ""You're a goner. You wont insult Tumaga anymore. I draw Greed..." He summoned Sasuke Samurai # 3 (1500/1500) it was strong enough to kill Seth. "Look out Jack, that's what defeated me." Jacobus shouted. "We know, but he can't activate Greed this turn..so why." He wondered, but someone else finished the question. "Why do I bother? Simple.." He activated Trap Booster, a quickplay spell with a discard cost. "This spell allows me to activate a traps in my hand." He placed the continuous trap, the second Greed. "You will draw until you have seven cards. You can't survive." The samurai unsheathed his katana. "How fitting, both pests die the same way. This is for Sim!" He charged, and both Scatach and Seth smirked. "Trap card: Creation from One's Mind!" This allowed him to revive a Persona. "The one we call back, is The Devil!" The severing warrior stopped, as Abbadon returned to the field. "Ah!?" The trap had summoned it in its spell-effect mode, so the Samurai lost half his power (750/1500) "NO!"

_Trap Booster, Quickplay Spell  
Discard 1 card. This turn, you can activate 1 trap card from your hand._

No longer could he deliver the master stroke, his monster was too weak, and wide open for an assault. "Our turn." He was helpless to resist, the symbolist had free reighn. "..." The card in Jacksons hand was Thanatos, the Death Persona. "Ivar. We win." There was a conflict within his mind, half of him wanted to finish the villain, the other felt sympathetic for him. "But I do not wish to sacrifice your soul to the Kartel." He held back on summoning or battling just yet. "Drop the seal, free these people, and we will not take down your last few lifepoints." He looked confused, as did the soldiers around him. "Damn you." He did not seem to like the idea. "This seal does not allow an escape, it never did. No matter what happens it looks like only I will give my life to it." He spat. "And if I go, nobody will be able to stop Simon Creed or the Kartel." He started to search through his bags. "What are you doing?" Jackson was cautious. "I lost the duel, the seal will not wait forever. And the only thing that freese this army is my demise." He found what he was looking for. "But..I will not feed a city that abandoned its finder, I will not give my soul to Simon!" He pulled out a small gun. And he aimed it at his head. "No, wait!"

(To be continued in Testament 107: Mortal)

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**_  
Soulless Symbol of the Cups_

_-  
Soulnado - Tornado of Souls_

**New Cards used by Ivar Thorne**  
Destiny Hero Defender  
Morphing Jar  
Bistro Butcher  
Cat of Ill Omen

-  
Seal of Orichalcos  
Card Destruction  
Swords of Revealing Light_  
Trap Booster (+)_

-  
Appropriate  
Call of the Haunted  
Dark Bribe  
Negate Attack

(+) Based on the spell used various times in YGO GX

and Seth attempted to give him a direct attack.


	107. Testament 107: Mortal

Testament 107: Mortal

"SIM." As Ivar put the gun against his termple, he called out to the intelligence network. S.I.M. appeared came as a hologram from his dueldisk. "Are the Satellites in place?" He asked it. "**Affirmative." **It replied with its cold monotonic voice. "Is my connection still online?" He inquired further. "**Negative.**" This time Thorne looked shocked, but only for a few seconds. "I see. They knew all along, they didn't even expect me to come back. Like Marcus." He sighed. "Goodbye SIM." He shut down the communicator, but not before one last transmission was sent through. "**Goodbye Ivar**" He cringed. In that instant, the computer sounded more like the actual sim then it had ever done before. "Dont do it, Ivar!" Jackson tried to stop him, but he was too late. "Its too late for all of us." He shot himself in the head. Blood splattered across the floor, the body dropped down immediately. "That.." Everyone stared at the body, bewildered. "Why?" Nero yelled. "There was no other way for him to win..." And the Seal of Orichalcos faded.

Ivars LP: 0

"Caaalm dooooown!" Cleo screamed as Timaeus rached through winds and clouds, chasing after the floating fortress. "We need to make up for lost time!" He grunted, getting the ship in his sights. "Jesus, I tell you to stop being emotional about it and you turn into a maniac." It was nauseating enough to just ride a dragon, now she had to carry Colin around at twice the speed. "There!" He slowed down the dragon, so that it went just as fast as the building, and searched for a place to land. "Finally." Caine moaned, as Timaeus set itseld down, digging its claws into one of the towers and ripping out a piece of the wall. "Okay, lets go." He went inside already, eager to get his revenge on Edgar. "Edgar, where are you?" Wills shouts echoed across the many hallways of Temple Soft. "I will find you!" He ran through many sections, much to the annoyance of Cleo Caine. "Slow down already!" She could not keep up, what with Colins body in her hands. "We need to stay together, so we.." And her own voice soon lost its effects on him. "Oh you must be joking.."

Already she had lost track of him, after the third corridor he disappeared from sight. William himself did not even notice this, his anger had taken full control. Only at a dead end in a large processing room did his perception return. "Cleo?" She was not there. "_One dragon down, one more to get_." But someone else was. "Oh!" The duelists was startled, the cyborg he needed stood there in the shadows. "You came." Carter quickly recovered and turned back to his rage. "You came for one reason, did you not?" He stepped out from behind a row of towlines, which trembled from right to left. "You know that already." He did not waste time and activated his dueldisk. "I came for you, Edgar, Xifos, Sangenma. The line of victims ends here. You claimed Ned, condemned my brother and Venice, and took Colin. Its gone too far!" Sangenma came closer. "No, its not yet far enough. You will see just how great a distance is put behind Tumaga. There is no going back." He too readied his disk, inserting the cards.

Sangenma's LP: 8000 Williams LP: 8000

"Thats easy for you to say, standing there. You aren't even human anymore. I will kill you with your favorite kind: machines." He shuffled his deck, and drew five cards. "Cyber-style" The enemy drew six. "Youw ill not start this. Set two cards facedown, special summon Chaos Core(0/0) in attack mode." He discarded three monsters from his deck, Uria, Raviel and Wicked Dreadroot. "The same strategy again?" He sighed as the Core gained three counters to protect itself. "Somewhat." However the enemy also activated a spell card, Spell Chronicle. "To play this, the hand is discarded." He discarded two Delta Barriers. "Wait, thats from your... first deck.." Edgar used this in his duel against Nero back at the tournament. He could remove five cards in its deck from play [Delta Barrier, Triangle Force, Kuriboh Flute, Demon Chronicle and Zero Sprite] and gain them back one at a time. "_Tsk_." It was his turn. "I start by activating this spell. D.D Capsule. I remove a card from my deck, and two turns later it will come to my field."

As he summoned the capsule, the Chronicle scroll gained a counter. "Every time a spell is played it gains a counter..." He was not done just yet, he used Cyber Dragons effect to special summon it from his hand(2100/1600) without tributes. "I might as well use a second spell card: Evolution Burst! If a Cyber Dragon is on my field, I can destroy one card on the field, I choose The Core." The fiend with its three counters were killed in one shot by the machine's special attack. "Very well, a second counter goes to the Spell Chronicle." The villain stated. "I know. Now Evolution Burst prevents me from attacking with the Dragon. However.." He could still attack if he normal summoned a monster. "I summon Card Trooper (400/400) and use his effect to discard 3 cards from the top of my deck (Cyberdark Horn, Keel and Armored Cybern), and power him by 500 for every discarded card." The gunner appeared, discarded (1900/400) and fired away, hitting Sangenma directly. "That was for Colin!!" In the endphase the Trooper lost its boost (400/400)

Sangenma's LP: 6100

"Colin Sairve." It repeated. "Thats right, you do remember the last guy whose soul you stole!?" He asked loudly. "Pick." However Sangenma ignored him and opened the Spell Chronicle. Carter had to choose which card to take out of it. "Argh, Triangle Force..whatever." He really did not care. Anything was better then Delta Barrier or Demon Chronicle. "Normal summon, the Phantom of Chaos." And then it summoned the formless ghost (0/0). "It copies the effect and stats of a monster in the grave: Wicked Dreadroot(4000/4000)." The devils effect was to halve the attackpoints all monsters on the field. Like the Trooper (200/400) and the Dragon (1050/1600) "Kill the weakling." He took down the former, the phantom Dreadroot stomped on the shooting robot. Its destruction allowed William to draw a new card though. "If that was for Colin, then it did not do much, did it?" It said, almost mockingly. "What was that?" He flinched, that sounded like an insult to him, and a bit human. "If you want to see something strong, I will end this farce."

First he placed a trap, but then he activated a spell card: Power Bond. "This spell I use to combine the Cyber Dragon on the field with the one in my hand, to call Cyber Twin Dragon." Both mechanical beasts merged into one form, their two heads molded on one body(5600/2100). "Power Bond has doubled their power! And it can attack twice with its own effect. Thats 11200 attackpoints, you can't survive this!" The twins charged their burst streams. "It is over, this is for my brother, Twin Evolution Burst!" A dual energy beam headed for the Phantom. "No, you will not avenge him." Yet a trap was flipped, Chaos Burst. "Because you are weak, you are mortal." Chaos Burst destroyed both the Phantom and the powerbonded machine, and inflicted 1000 damage to Williams lifepoints. "NO!" His attack had been foiled, and he would now have to pay for the cost of Power Bond. "You have to little time to spend on revenge, Carter." In the endphase, he had to lose LP equal to Cyber Twins original attack. He lost 2800 points. "Damn you."

Williams LP: 4200

Will was forced to defend, he placed a machine facedown. "I will get revenge." He finished his turn. "You can only try. Anger is a great power, Edgar felt it too." The Chronicle had another counter, but he need one more. "Thats in the past. This is the future.." And then he activated Triangle Force, placing the three continuous spells on the field in one turn. He then tributed all three to special summon Hamon, of the Thunder (4000/4000). "Andre's card.." He was seething now, not only had Ed doomed his sibling, he stole his card too. "This power is not for weaklings!" Hamon released a bolt of lightning which decimated the facedown Cyberdark Edge (800/800). Stray sparks were about to inflict effect damage to the player, when he activated his own trap. "Fusion Guard!" He could discard a fusion monster (Fiveheaded Dragon) from his fusion deck, to negate the effect damage. "My brother was not a weakling, Ed. He was stronger then you will ever be! I will not allow myself the same fate as his, I can not let him down."

At that moment the capsule opened, giving him the card he was wating for. "I get Cyberdark Impact!" It was the spell he needed to defeat a Demon God. "But I will reword my vow. Until I actually kill you, I cant say I avenged Andre." He played Impact, sending three Cyberdark monsters in his grave back to the deck to fusion summon Cyberdark Dragon (1600/1600). "Instead." It equiped itself with the only dragon in his graveyard: Fiveheaded Dragon(5000 atk), absorbing its attackpower (6500/1500) "This one is for Ned." The fiveheaded cyberdragon charged, firing multiple blasts at the yellow beast, until it was crumbled into pieces. "As I said, they were not weak, you are. You fell to Jacob, and let your fear consume your body and mind. Just look at you." He ended his turn. "The only souls that still wait for their retribution are the ones you lured into your mechanical state: my brother and Venice. Their time will come." But Sangenma sacrificed two more counters on Spell Chronicle. "No, their time has come..and gone. And now, so has yours."

Sangenma's LP: 3600

Will chose Zero Sprite, it looked the least threatening. "What can you do then, all your demons are dead already. You can't call one, let alone Armitael." He felt confident for once. "That is, what a fool would think." He flipped his trap, Call of the Haunted, to revive Phantom of Chaos (0/0). "Inferno Reckless Summon" Next he played a spell, that triggered when a monster with less than 1500 attack was special summoned. It allowed both players to summon two more of the same monster. He called out two more Phantoms (0/0). "Huh?" Because the Cyberdark Dragon could only be fusion summoned, Will could not call out two more of them. "Watch." He integrated three monsters into the wraiths, Raviel (4000/4000), Uria (2000/0) and Hamon (4000/4000). "Oh!" Their names, stats and effects had been copied. "Fusion." And they could be fused. "No way!" The ghostlike beasts combined into a very solid Phantom God Armitael (10000/0). "It appears that your anger, has led you astray. Only now do you see, what you are up against, human."

"Disappear." Armitael charged flames within Uria's mouthclaw and fired it. The flames surrounded the Cyberdark Dragon, and burned off its dragonic hide. He and his card survived the attack only becauuse of its high attackpoints, but it lost the powerboost as Dragon of Five elements died again. "You can only equip one dragon during the game, now your machine is worthless." It placed Zero Srpite down and ended its turn. "Your anger is worthless as well, you can not touch me." Carter glared at him. "I wont give up my anger, no matter what. If you were still human you would understand." But his options for revenge were limited with the Phantom Lord in play. It could not be destroyed in battle. So if he left Cyberdark in attack mode, he would face 10000 attackpoints once more. "I switch the dragon to defense mode, place a spell card facedown. My turn is over." He sweated. "Noted. Activate trap card." Will flinched, as a trap equiped itself to Armitael "Zero Sprite: A monsters attack is reduced to zero, and can attack twice in one turn."

Williams LP: 700

_Zero Sprite, Normal Trap  
After activation, equip this card to a face-up monster on your side of the field. The original ATK of the equipped monster is reduced to 0.  
The equipped monster may attack twice during the battle hase._

Of course the loophole behind this combo was crystal clear to him. "That drawback does not make a difference at all does it? Your god will gain 10000 attack still." Sangenma did not confirm his theory with words, but with action. The Uria mouth and Hamonclaw gathered energy at the same time, flames and lightning. "Spell card!" Will had no choice now, he played his quickplay. "Cyberdark Reverse! I can send the Dark Dragon back to the fusion deck, to special summon all three darklings from my deck." The machine split into Edge(800/800), Keel(800/800) and Horn (800/800). They were all in defense mode. "Tsk." Nevertheless the dual attack went through, thunder blew up Keel, flames melted down Edge. "Set card." William started brewing a new plan, when he drew a special card. "I normal summon Cyber Valley(0/0)!" He called the triple-effective robot dragon. "I activate Valley's second effect: I remove it and one monster from play to draw two new cards." He removed Valley along with Dark Horn.

_Cyberdark Reverse, Quickplay Spell  
Return 1 'Cyber Dark Dragon' you control to the fusion feck. If all the fusion material monsters listed on that card are in your deck, you can special summon them._

He drew twice, getting Overload Fusion and a Dimension Explosion "Then, I use Overload Fusion!" The cyborg was surprised. "I fuse six machines in my graveyard, and one on my field (Three cyber dragons, two Cyber darklings, Armored Cybern and Card Trooper) to call the seven-headed Overdragon!" He fused all seven into a Chimeratech monstrocity. Overdragon gained 800 points for each head (5600/5600). "So even if Armitael can not be killed in battle, this machine can attack the lord seven times. You dont have nearly enough life left" The first head charged a burst stream, and fired it. "This is for.." However a continuous trap was activated. "No!" A Spirit Barrier was erected to block any spill-over damage from hitting the duelist. "Damn you!" He could not damage Edgar. At least not if Armitael stayed around. Not even seven bursts could kill it. "Set spell, end turn." And Sangenma drew his cards. "This turn... you die...double attack." It looked to be all over for William.

Meanwhile over the north sea, this floating fortress could be seen by almost everyone. It was so noticable that even Christine could spot it from on top of her dragon. "_What on earth?" _Quite a strange sight for her, of course. "Check that out, we have another visitor." Justine cackled as she saw Hermos approaching on the monitors. "Ah the final dragon is here, too bad Sangenma is occupied." Cadron rubbed his fingers eagerly. "He wont be neccesary, the girl is my burden." She stroked her new machine. "After all, she has read Nelsons books, she has been possessed before. She is the perfect subject for my invention."

(To be continued in Testament 108: Back to the Assembly Line)

**New Cards used by William Carter**  
Cyber Twin Dragon  
Fiveheaded Dragon  
Cyber Valley  
Chimeratech Overdragon

-  
D.D. Capsule  
Evolution Burst  
Power Bond_  
Cyberdark Reverse_

-  
Fusion Guard

**New Cards used by Sangenma**  
Inferno Reckless Summoning

-_  
Zero Sprite_ (+)

(+) Based on the trap used by Yubel in GX Season 3


	108. Testament 108: Back to the Assembly Line

Testament 108: Back to the Assembly Line

On the other side of Temple Softs barge, the third dragon arrived. It landed on the flatside of the front building, where the winds were less severe. "Hermos wanted to go here, so maybe the other dragons are here too?" She dismounted Hermos and looked around for an entrance. "How did they get in?" She wondered. It would be pointless to ask, her own voice was drowned out by the air around her. _**"Can I help?" **_But someone's voice was not, someone very detestable. "Its you again, hello Rose." Justine, or rather a hologram of her, stood behind the girl. "You?" She and the dragon turned on her, though they knew that attacks would be pointless. _**"I can assist you, but only if you will assist me**_." She smiled. "What are you talking about, where are the.." Just then a small fire turret opened to the left of her. To late did she notice the danger. "Say Cheese." A transparent energy beam was shot from the cannon, and it hit her square in the face. "Ah!" She fell down and the wind dragged her against a nearby construct.

Back at her actual room. "So..you shot her with the Millenium Rod device, and gained control of her mind?" Cadron asked with a disappointed tone. "Didn't you already use that trick with Cable. I thought you were more creative." He sighed. 'I go with what works, thats a phrase that the Kartel seems to love." Rose got up again, Her eyes looked pale. "_**Good, now come to my room and I will give you something nice" **_She spoke into the holographic communicator once again. "_**Thats right, Christine Rose, just walk into door to your left, and down a few floors. I will meet you there and give you a nice present." **_She smirked as she watched the girl do just that. Hermos could only stare in confusion and he faded from sight soon after. "A regular gun would have done just as well, one could say." The doctor rasped. 'Yes, but thats no fun at all. I thought you were an advocate of toying with your enemies?" She smiled. "I do give off that image. But project Zetto begins tonight, I do not wish to miss the grand opening." His irritable movements exemplified this impatience. "Relax. This way we will get another soul on our plate, and we dont even have to lift a finger or play a card."

Sangenma's LP: 3600 Williams LP: 700

The life threatening demon Armitael struck with its tail, intending to kill Overdragon. "Not so fast. I flip Limiter Removal!" However, Carter was not willing to let it die so easily, he played his set spell to double Chimeratechs attackpoints (11200/5600). The overdragon blocked the tail and pushed back. "Fool, all you did was delay your monsters death" That too failed to defeat Armitael, it could not be killed in battle and Spirit Barrier still blocked battle damage. "Limiter Remival will kill it in the endphase." He placed two cards facedown. "I know. But, I set two spells, remember?" He then flipped the quickplay: Dimension Explosion. "I can send a fusion monster back to my fusion deck, to special summon two monsters that were removed from play. You can do the same." The sevenheaded machine exploded, two of its parts were left behind and changed into Cyber Twin Dragon (2800/2000) and Armored Cybern (0/2000) "Tsch, again?" Meanwhile Edgar summoned two of the Chaos Phantoms(0/0) that were removed to fusion summon Armitael.

"Already killed that one.." Its turn was over. "Alone yes, but the Cybern is a Union monster." He drew, and then. "I combine CyberTwin Dragon with the Armored one." The twoheaded machine fused with the cannon-dragon. "A monster equiped with this card can reduce its attack by 1000, in order to destroy one monster on the field!" And he knew exactly what to target. "Armitael!?" The cybern equipped cannons fired on their own, and pierced the Chaos Lords neck. "I don't need Timaeus to defeat you!" The mighty demon collapsed, rocking the entire fortress as it fell. "And Twin dragon can still attack twice in one turn!" The weakened dragon (1800/2000) fired a twin Evolution Burst, to wipe out the defending Phantoms of Chaos. At that time, Sangenma played his facedown quickplay spells. "Flute of Summoning Kuriboh and Multiply!" The flute called out one Kuriboh monster, which was mulitplied into five tokens by the Multiplication spell. "What are you doing Ed? You already lost Raviel." He yelled. "Dont need a sacred beast."

"You will use the dragon, and then Socrates will come out. That is the only way." He cursed. "You would like that, wouldn't you? To get another legendary dragon. One slew Illya, the other vanquished Xifos. It almost sounds like revenge." He smirked. "No, its all about power, William. Look around." He pointed at the machines that surrounded them, pipes, wires, gauges, claws and rolling bands filled the room. "This is where power is born, where weaklings die. This is where Edgar ended, and you will end as well!" He played a spel: Detonating. "This card tributes all Kuriboh monsters on the field, who then destroy an equal number of cards on the opponents field!" William was shocked to see it. All the little hairballs attacked his fusion like crazy, exploding on contact as if they were mines. "Both the union and the united!" His two monsters died, leaving his field wide open. But Sangenma's field was the same. "You are that obsessed with it then?" He grunted as his turn started. "Fine then, I guess you will get your wish, but I wont die here."

A blue glow came from his disk, and he pulled out the Eye of Timaeus at last. "If Edgar died here, so should you. You are already dead anyway, I am only fulfilling your body's last wish." He summoned another Cyberdark Keel (800/800), and this was combined with Timaeus(2800/2600). "Yes, use the power. Use it, so it can be taken!" The cyborg cackled. "Then suffer the power that freed Venice. Your Spirit Barrier can not block the damage anymore. So once and for all, take it." The blue dragon released a jet of flames, it consumed the enemy. "This is for Venice Gray, the girl you condemned! Now only my brother waits for his retribution!" He was pushed back, but held his ground. "It has raw power." Sangenma did not mind it at all, not Timaeus's physical attack. "Is that all? Did you fuse the dragon with the Cyber creature for no improvement? That can not be it. Show its effect." Carter stared at him for a while, and responded calmly. "No. You arent worthy. I dont need to use any special abilities...yet"

Sangenma's LP: 800.

"Besides, you will just copy its abilities with Wings of Socrates. Once you draw it that is." He noted that there were no cards in the enemy's metallic hand, meaning that he had not yet drawn the fourth dragon blade. "Underestimation." It drew and placed a monster in facedown defense mode. It had still not received the green dragon. "Did you not want to avenge your brother along with the others, you will have to use your full force." What William did not know was that his set card was Grave Squirmer (0/0), which blew up any random card if it was destroyed in battle. "End turn." Even the legendary dragons would fall to its destruction effect, though it only intended to use it as a test. Carter drew, but did not get a monster. "Well if you want to know it so much, I will give you a direct clear example....Attack." The dark dragon roared and slashed into the mummified fiend. "Now?" Sanganma watched as the effect of the Squirmer was negated by the Executioner Dragons powers, and somehow he lost 500 lifepoints. "I see."

Sangenma's LP: 300

_Cyberdark Executioner Dragon, 8/2800/2600 Dark/Machine/Dragon/Fusion  
Eye of Timaeus + Cyberdark Keel  
Negate the effects of effect monsters destroyed by battle with machine-type monsters you control.  
If this card destroys an opponents monster, inflict 500 damage to the opponents life points._

Grave Squirmer did not affect the dragon at all. "There, I suppose you are happy now. Timaeus has become the Cyberdark Executioner Dragon, it can negate the effects of its victims. Thats why your monster did not work. Also, as you just felt, it inflicts 500 damage every time it kills a monster." He placed a trap card. "Satisfied?" And ended his turn. "Quite." And then he drew a card that gave off a faint green radiance. "What? Already?!" That could only be one card, the Wings of Socrates. "That effect is suitable. Its time for the second sword to return to its creator." He summoned the dragon to the field, and Socrates copied Timaeus. "It becomes the Murder Vanguard Dragon(2800/2600)." A green imitation of Carters current machinebeast showed up, except fiercer and taller. "And what it copies, it improves upon! This dragon can kill any creature without damage calculation, and when it slaughters, it gives off 1000 effect damage at the same time." Thus Socrates could slay the blue sibling without dying himself, if it struck first.

_Murder Vanguard Dragon, 8/2800/2600 Dark/Machine/Dragon/Fusion  
Cyberdark Executioner Dragon + Wing of Socrates  
This card can not be special summoned, except by removing a face-up 'Wings of Socrates' when a 'Cyberdark Executioner Dragon' is face-up on the field. If this card attacks an opponents monster, destroy the monster with this card's effect without applying damage calculation, and inflict 1000 damage to the opponents life points._

"You do not have enough life to walk away from such a hit. It strikes now!" And a mighty tornado was summoned to claim the spirit of the Executioner. "_No choice." _He was forced to use a counter trap. "Cyber Repairer, it negates the death of my machines!" Since the merging, Timaeus had become a mechanical type as well. A shield arose to deflect the murderous storm. The initial clash of the two dragons shook the room, but no damage was sustained. _"I hope the cost of the trap does not ruin my chances_" In return, Cyber Repairer allowed Sanganma to draw once more. "Hmm?" He did it without hesitation and placed the card facedown. _"I was worried about that. Knowing his traps, they can kill my monster if I dare to get near_" The trap the villain placed was actually a second Chaos Burst. So if he did attack, in an attempt to kill Socrates along with Timaeus, the trap would trigger. Then he would lose 1000 LP and the game. "The end has come, has it not? The dragon you face is superior, you can not beat it."

_Cyber Repairer, Normal Trap  
Your opponent draws 1 card. During this turn, machine-type monsters you control cannot be destroyed._

He finally ended his turn, so all now rested on Wills next draw, his hand too was empty. "Critias already returned to the true ruler of Atlantis, all he had to do was give up its wielder in exchange. If you were wise, you would switch sides as well. That is what Socrates did." He chuckled. "And that is also what Edgar did, huh?" Will retorted. "I guess you found a kindred spirit in him, even though I dont really believe it myself." His fingers touched the deck. "I wish I could understand you, and this craving for power. I never wanted it myself, the best cards, the most powerful strategy. Sure if there was a simpler way, I would take it. I guess only in that aspect lies a similarity." He drew it, but did not look at it. "You took the ease route, by becoming this abomination of a man, and taking cards that dont belong to you." He looked at Timaeus in its current form, and at the card in his graveyard. "I do not understand why I was given the power of Timaeus, but I do know that we want it for different reasons. You are blinded by this obsession!"

He took the last card in his hand. "I will show once and for all: there is more to this then just power!" He summoned a Prototype Cyberdragon (1100/600). "In effect you caused your own defeat when you stole my effect. You turned Socrates into a machine, just like you did with yourself." And then he fused the two machines on his field. "Now I will take it back." And also, the one on Sangenma's field. "What?" Vanguard was taken from him. The three combined into one smaller robotic being: Chimeratech Fortress Dragon. This monster could be fusion summoned with one 'Cyber Dragon' and at least one other machine-type. It did not need Polymerization, and it could take monsters from both sides of the field. "No.." Its attack became 1000 times the number of fusion materials that were used for its summoning (3000/0). "No!" His trap could not work if he had no monster on his field! "No escape then, I can say it at last." The dragon that housed both Atlantians powered a beam. And fired it. The burst pushed the cyborg against the walls.

"This is for my brother.. The one you dragged into your mad world."

Sangenma's LP: 0

The assassin crashed through conveyor belts and pipelines, destroying the equipment all around the mass production facility. "..." Will looked around, at the place where Orichalcos soldiers were made, where cybernetic implants where forced upon innocent humans. "No more." In the background the robot let out a shout of anguish. It could not feel pain, but it could feel death. "Why, why again!?" He trashed around violently, as his own system began to delete his mind. "Lost...thrice.. not enough power..need..more." He started to hit softer, his movements became slower. It was strange to see him act more human then ever, as he neared his selfdestruction. "You still dont get it, even in the end?" He could not help but feel pity for Edgar, even after all he had done. "I wish I could answer you, but you went too deep." The enemy collapsed at last, only twitching, and muttering inchorently. This was the last sign of life to come from his defeaten body. "Now you are free...like the rest." Any promise of power from Tumaga..was a lie...

"Okay, enough is enough." Cleo growled as she sat down Colin on a bench. "I will never find him if you slow me down." She wheezed. "And dont look at me like that! I know what I am doing." She even yelled at Sairve, despite his obvious inability to make a response. "Tsk. You arent any help." She looked around, and saw that she was in a rather familiar area. "Oh, I forgot. Its the same building, only now it flies." It was the same hallway that Cable had dueled Jackson in. Only this time she was on the other side. "_**Talking to yourself, you seem lonely**_." And just like before, that voice appeared. "_Oh, please be a memory of my troubled mind_." She turned around slowly and saw a hologram of Loveless. "Of course not." And next to her was Christine. "Hey? When did you.." And she had a cold dead look in her eyes, and a new dueldisk model on her wrist. "...get here?" The goth quickly figured out what did not fit in this picture. "This is too much of a deja vu." Justine/Rose smirked. "_**Seems you caught on. In that case, want to see our new deck**_**?"**

(To be continued in Testament 109: The Nivio)

**New Cards used by William Carter**  
Armored Cybern  
Prototype Cyber Dragon

-  
Dimension Explosion

-_  
Cyber Repairer_ (+)

**New Cards used by Sangenma/Xifos**  
Detonating

(+) Based on the card used by Syrus in GX season 2, albeit modified


	109. Testament 109: The Nivio

Testament 109: The Nivio

"I dont believe this." Cleo stared at the brainwashed Christine. "You did the same trick again? How uninspired." It was especiallu annoying since someone else already forced her to duel her while she was mesmerized. "_**It is different this time, isnt it Rose?" **_The voice asked the slave, and she nodded. "_**Her entire minds been reprogrammed with my millenium rod machine, an auto-pilot mind. This time I am only here to observe, not to play." **_She laughed as the girl activated her dueldisk. "What makes you think I even want to play against you?" She hissed. "_**Because I wont leave things up to chance." **_A green light sealed off all exits, sealing the two players inside. "_**You can not escape, and unless you defeat your exfriend in a duel, she will continue to do my bidding**_." The mindless Christine nodded again. "_Grrrr. I hate it when I have no choice_." She put on her own dueldisk, and started inserting cards. "I almost want you to simply shoot me and get it over with. I dont understand why you settle it through this game."

Cleo's LP: 8000 Christine's LP: 8000

"For that matter, why you wont come out yourself." The hologram did not respond, it faded and left everything up to the mindwiped duelist. "Funny." And she spoke at last, her voice sounded more grating and less gentle. "Last night we dueled as a team, and now I am here to kill you." She smirked. "Yes, its so nonsensical its amusing." Cleo took the first turn. "I am laughing already." She sarcastically said as she summoned the Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams in attack-mode(1300/1800) and placed a trap card behind it. "Now just show me this deck of yours, the one that the tramp is raving on and on about." She was done with her turn. "Very well. But first an introduction." She drew her sixth card. "Do we have to?" The goth sighed. Rose continued as if she had not heard her. "Nelsons novel is a tale about swordsmen, fighters and soldiers. It is a story about war, and thus it also has an enemy." She put one card in front of her. "The dark gods and the outer malice. Its time for you to meet the Nivio." And placed on the field.

She summoned a twisted almost alienlike warrior, red eyed and purple skinned. And even though Caine never much cared for Nelsons cards, she could tell what was so disturbing about the creature: it looked like her main card: John Baker. "Nivio-Order(1500/1600)" This particular being was a female, blonde and quite stronglooking. "The second set from the novel Premium Pack, it covers all the Nivio cards. In the story they were made from Johns own DNA. Thats why they look like him." The warrior lengthened her nails, turning them into claws. "Lets share their power with our friends." The claw almost came down upon the Dream Ghost. "I think not." However she flipped her trap, the continuous Nightmare Wheel. "Oh?" It was about to strap the enemy on a torturing wheel. But nothing happened, the trap was sent to the grave. "Hey, what the hell?" And her ghost was still killed off by the purple female. "I forgot to explain her effect. Nivio-Order can negate any effect that targets a Nivio-type, like your trap card tried to do."

Cleo's LP: 7800

_Nivio-Order, 4/1500/1600 Dark/Warrior  
As long as this card remains face up on the field, any monster card with 'Nivio' in its name cannot be the targeted by effects of effect cards._

"At the same time, each Nivio has an unwritten rule. There can only be one of each type on the field at a time. There are no two Nivio-Orders." She placed a card down and ended. "The old me would not have wanted to use the cards. But the current me loves their power. Dont you agree, Cleo?" Her turn ended. "I hate to say it. But at the very least those monsters look cooler then your regular cards. Allthough I suppose if I want you back to normal, I should not have said that." She shrugged and drew. "I prefer to beat you with force." She summoned a Molten Zombie(1600/400) and attacked the Order. "Thats easy for you to say. You aren't very close to anyone to begin with." The Nivio died, and she triggered a trap. "Soul Rope." She payed a thousand of her lifepoints to special summon another lv.4 monster card from her deck. Of course she chose another of its kind. "Nivio - Birth." This one was a male type, so it looked even more like John Baker(1000/2000). It had brown hair and looked rather young for a deadly creature. "Great..."

Christine's LP: 6900

_Nivio- Birth, 3/1000/1200 Dark/Warrior  
If you tribute summon a monster card with 'Nivio' in its name, you can treat this 1 monster as 2 tribute monsters._

Justine of course enjoyed watching the game through her monitors. "Hrm." Cadron saw something less pleasant though. William Carter walked away from the wrecked cyborg room and ran down random corridors. "That boy defeated my cyborg amalgam." He did not sound too upset. "Oh well, guess thats one toy less for me, and one more for you." Loveless grinned. "Indeed. Marcus thought it was a waste of money to bribe Nelson for allowing a villain-based promo set. Setting up mindgames like this is worth every penny." Cadron did not smile this time, which was odd for him. "In any case. I want to be on time for the start of the ritual, so I will take the jet and go on ahead." The woman did not even turn around to respond. "Oh sure, you do that. Tell Simon I will be there after I have given him three more souls." She was to absorbed in the match to look elsewhere. And thats why she did not notice that Cadron left something behind for her on the desk. "Eheh. Will do. Goodbye Loveless." He left the room, smiling at last.

"Nivio-Birth. She has the power to turn into other types, a changeling." Hence the title of birth. "Are you going to give an explanation for each of your monster cards?" Caine rasped. "Well even the new me has to appreciate and respect the source material. In any case, its time to show you the transformation." She started her turn."Since Birth counts for two, it can be sacrificed for a seven or eight-star Nivio. We shall skip the cycle of life and death and go straight to Synthesis." The boyish warrior started to convulse, veins pulsed on his forehead as he changed shape. It grew into a taller womanly creature: Nivio Synthesis (2700/2500). And though she did not resemble John at all, she was more human then her relatives, aside from her colors. "This is the mother of all Nivio, once a normal human and now she synthesizes new clones." Suddenly she payed 500 LP and another Nivio-Order was summoned from her hand. "Ew." The goth shuddered as it was 'synthesized' from the bigger cards body. "Not only that, but.."

Christine's LP: 6400

_Nivio-Synthesis 8/2700/2500 Light/Warrior  
Once per turn you can pay 500 Life Points to special summon one level 4 or lower monster card with 'Nivio' in its name from your hand.  
As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all monster cards with 'Nivio' in their name gain 500 ATK._

The mother had the ability to strengthen herself and all her children (Synthesis: 3200/2500, Order: 2000/1600). "Go, my warriors." The blonde beings lashed out, striking down the pyromaniac and then hitting the dark girl directly. Even a simple touch from that simulation felt slimy. "I take it back. Those things arent cool, they are just disgusting. Even I have my limits." Cleo looked at her hand, she no longer had a monster that could kill her warrior freaks. She had Book of Life to revive an undead, but that was useless if all her dead zombies were weak as well. "I set a monster card and end my turn."

Cleo's LP: 4400

On the other hand, Christine she had no qualms with trampling all over her opponent. "I pay 500 LP to special summon another Birth-Nivio(1500/2000)." Another boy came to the field, this one transformed as well. "For my normal summon of the turn, I choose to tribute summon a failed experiment." Birth shifted into a very bizarre and demonic shape, a skeleton dragon zombie, with bits of purple flesh on its bones. "_Why is that still classified as a warrior-type_." Cleo wondered, as she read the card description. "This is one of the first Nivio, a DNA-test gone horribly wrong: Nivio-Prototype(2800/2200). But its still intelligent. It has the effect to steal lifeforce from its victims. Behold." The skeleton attacked, and slashed through her facedown lv.4 monster. "It gains 200 attackpoints for each star of its victim." As it sucked up four stars, more skin covered its decaying body(4000/2200). But then another monster was summoned to the field. "?" It was a Pyramid Turtle(1200/1400). "I see, I killed a searcher monster."

Christine's LP: 5900

_Nivio-Prototype, 6/2300/2200 Dark/Warrior  
When this Monster destroys an opponents monster as a result of battle, this card gains 200 ATk x the level of the destroyed monster card._

She had killed the first Turtle with the Prototype, so Cleo was allowed to summon a zombie. She simply summoned a second Pyramid. "You edited your deck? Or did you just not get a chance to use that card before. Regardless.." Order was the next to strike, she slew the second zombie turtle with similar ease. "But I can special summon any zombie with less then 2000 defense, so." For the second special summon, she did not call a Turtle. Instead she summoned.."A Ryu Kokki!" An undead ogre made from bones (2400/2000). "Ah?" This was a problem. "Kokki has the non-targeting effect to destroy any warrior-type it does battle with." Despite their mutated forms, the Nivio were still warriors. "If you insist." Yet she attacked anyway, slaughtering the skeletal zombie with Synthesis. This in turn caused the Mother to collapse from Ryu's unseen poison. "You are right, Christine. I did add some cards I was tired of people that took this game so serious. For once, its my turn to walk all over people."

Once the attacks were over, Cleo could make her move. "Oh yeah I still have this." She used the spell Book of Life. "I revive Ryu Kokki(2400/200) from my graveyard, and remove Synthesis from yours." Now that the bone demon had come back, her warriors were once again put up against its lethal effect. "I strike down that blonde Nivio." With their Mother gone, Nivio-Order(1500/1600) had lost her power boost. She fell quickly. Only the dragon skeleton remained (3500/2200). But even with his razorsharp claws, it could not kill the zombie triggering Kokki's effect. "I set a monster card as well. Now its your turn." The goth did not believe that Ryu could be this convenient. Other players kept ranting on and on about how awesome that card was. Only now did she see that their endless talking had some truth to it. "Meh".

Christine's LP: 5000

Christine drew again. "I do not fear your demons, Cleo." And without regard for the consequences, she launched an attack against Kokki. Bone clashes with bone, and both creatures killed each other as a result. But one died due to an effect, the other due to battle, so only Caine took a hit to her lifepoints. 'Great, now are both open." She rasped. "Not for long." There was still a normal summon for this turn. "After Birth and Synthesis, comes life." She called out Nivio-Life (0/2000), an angelic brownhaired female. "How many times did these people clone Baker, ick.." The angel Nivo gathered white magic.

Cleo's LP: 3300

_Nivio-Life, 4/0/2000 Dark/Warrior  
When this card is successfully normal, flip or special summoned, you may special summon one lv.4 monster card with 'Nivio' in its name from your deck._

"This the healer, she can regenerate lost tissue, and create new life." With her magic she special summoned a level 4 Nivio from the deck in defense mode. Next to Life came a a child creature, it was bald and pale. "What is that?" Cleo could not tell if it was a she or a he. "Nivio-Absolute(1200/1500) The ultimate Nivio." The explanation did not get any more detailed then that, and the possessed Rose ended her turn. "Ultimate? It doesnt even look any stronger then Order, or Synthesis." She sacrificed her facedown monster, The Shadow Who Controls the Dark (800/700) and tribute summoned the End of Anubis (2500/0) "Also, thanks for leaving your healer in attack mode." She smirked and attacked Nivi-Life. The redeyed female of course stood no chance against the Jackal warrior, and several slashes sent her to an early grave. 2500 points of damage were directly delivered too the duelist. "I also wonder why you did not summon it in attack mode and attacked me directly." She placed a trap card.

Christine's LP: 2500

_Nivio-Absolute (incomplete form), 3/1200/1500 Dark/Warrior  
Once per turn, you can tribute a monster card on your side of the field. This card gains ATK equal to the original ATK of the sent monster until the end of this turn.  
During your standby phase, by removing this face-up card and one 'Andrea Baker' in your hand or graveyard from play, special summon 1 'Nivio-Absolute (Stage 1)' from your hand or deck or graveyard._

"Thats obvious is it not? I wanted you to be distracted by the weaker Nivio, while Absolute remained untouched. You will come to regret that decision." It was too late now anyway. "The Absolute is in a constant state of evolution. But it requires the DNA of true humans to grow. And only specific kinds of warriors will put it into the next stage." Christine needed Andrea Baker to do that, but right now she did not have her handy. "My turn, draw!" She drew the Fire Warrior instead. "I summon Julie, Elemental Warrior of Fire(1900/1700)." Though neither warrior could match Anubis in a fight, she had a plan. "Now watch, Cleo." Suddenly The Absolute lashed out, tentacles came from its body and latched on to Julie. "What the?" The tentacles sucked the warrior dry, skin, flesh and bone was absorbed and only her armor remained. "The Absolute can drain the DNA to gain its powers (3100/1500)." A stronger Nivio glared at the Jackal. "You sick.." And then she was attacked. "Gah, get away!" She flipped her trap, Waboku, to negate the battle damage.

Nivio-Absolute could not get close to The End of Anubis, and she/he lost her boost soon afterwards (1500/1200). "_Geez, who wastes money on making holographic situations that gory and detailed? Whatever happened to cards simply shattering like porcalein vases_" At the very least she had saved her fiend from destruction, and now she could actually kill the genderless creep. "Not so fast. I will place a trap down first. Now you may try to beat this thing, heh." Cleo frowned. "Damn. Isn't there any part of the normal you left inside?" She moaned. "Not really, I dont remember ever being like that. Gentleness is a curse." She entered her turn. "Thats why Venice died, and why Ned had to die. Nice guys finish last Cleo, I thought you could agree with me on that." Cleo drew her card . "Yeah, but.. I liked having at least one duelist around that didnt drive me nuts." That being miss Rose of course. "Too bad, she is gone now. Just be quiet and watch the transformation." Caine shook her head. "Oh no you dont. I wont let you.. I attack!"

(To be continued in Testament 110: Thats my Girl)

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine**  
Pyramid Turtle  
Ryu Kokki

-  
Nightmare Wheel

**New Cards used by Christine Rose**_  
Nivio - Order  
Nivio - Birth  
Nivio - Synthesis  
Nivio - Prototype  
Nivio - Life  
Nivio - Absolute (incomplete form)_


	110. Testament 110: Thats my Girl

Testament 110: Thats my Girl

_"Ugh, I shouldn't have let myself get caught up like that." _Carter sighed as he walked through the halls of the flying Templesoft building. "_Now I have no idea where Cleo ended up_" He tried to refind his steps, and estimated the most likely route that she would have taken. Though it was hard to imagine things like that if he did not even know how many floors the place had. _"I need some kind of focal point" _He walked up a level. "Hmm?" In the end he stumbled upon a larger room then the others. There were no desks or machinery inside, except for a long line of outdated computers and crossed wires. "_Guess this is a storage room._" William was about to leave it again, when he noticed a blinking light. "Eh?" It came from one of the computers. "_This still works?" _He inspected the light, and found out.. "_It's a signal, this thing intercepts transmissions!" _Someone was sending a message to this very place. "Hold on a second." He saw a button underneath and pushed it. The blinking stopped, and static came through. "Hello is anybody there?" He spoke into the communicator, not sure if he could be heard. But then a faint sound responded. It began to sound more human. And once he heard the full message, he was shocked and also relieved.

Cleo's LP: 3300 Christine's LP: 2500

"I attack again!" End of Anubis sank his claws into the enemy, Nivo-Absolute's first form. "Then you will not succeed, again." Alas the opponent, Christine Rose, had a trap for it to choke on instead, she activated Draining Shield. "No!" Her strike was absorbed into the trap shield, and the 2500 points were converted into energy for her lifepoints. "Thanks for the healing, guess now we are back where we started." Grunting, the goth placed one monster in facedown defense mode. "I told you to be be quiet and watch." Absolute started to convulse. "It is here." The girl revealed Andrea Baker in her hand, the card she needed to evolve her monster. She laughed maniacallay and removed it from play. "Behold, stage 1 of the Absolute!" It had grown taller, older, and definitely more feminine than masculine. Its skin grew paler and its head received brown hair, but the eyes stayed the same shade of red. "Andrea integrated: Stage 1(2000/2100). It is time to feed.." Next she normal summoned Zane Baker (1800/1900). "Oh no, not again."

Christine's LP: 5000

"Yesss. Like its incomplete form, it can absorb a monster into its cellular make-up, even defense is taken." Zane was already sucked dry by the purple lifeform, he even howled in anguish as he was killed for the sake of the Nivio-Absolute(3800/4000). "This boost stays until after my turn ends, and this time you can not defend yourself." It charged right at the fiend, and plowed through him with its claws, ripping it to shreds. "And this is nothing yet. The Absolute has three more evolutions, and its ultimate form is godlike, equal to a sacred beasts power." She gloated and finished her turn. "Cleo Caine, there is no chance for you to win. I will only keep you alive until I draw the Seal of Orichalcos. I am with Tumaga now!" She cackled. "You really are making it hard for me to want to save you, you know." She drew a card. "Ggh, I set another monster and end my turn." Cleo had to defend again, though there was good chance that she would be able to get the upper hand, a 50/50 shot. "Then it is time."

Cleo's LP: 2000

_Nivio-Absolute (Stage 1), 5/2000/2100 Dark/Warrior__  
This card cannot be normal summoned or set, this card can only be special summoned by the effect of 'Nivio-Absolute (incomplete form)'.  
Once per turn, you can tribute a monster card on your side of the field, to increase this cards ATK and DEF by an amount equal to the original ATK and DEF of the sent monster until your next standby phase. During your standby phase, by removing this face-up card and one 'Julie - Elemental Warrior of Fire' in hand or graveyard from play, special summon 1 'Nivio-Absolute (Stage 2)' from your hand or deck or graveyard._

Rose oddly refrained from playing her drawn card. "Julie is already in the grave, now she must die again." The fire warrior was removed from play and Absolute transformed again. It entered stage 2 (2400/2400) and looked more human then ever. Flesh patches covered her skin and, her hair grew longer and her eyes were no longer red. "My hand does not have any sacrifices, so..." She lashed out, deciding to kill Caine's first set monster card. "Ha!' But the claws were blocked by a small scythe. "Spirit Reaper (300/200), it can not be destroyed as a result of battle." The goth smirked. "I see, I chose wrong." She finished her battle phase, and stared at her one handcards. 'This is good" Cleo thought in the mean time. "_Now I can do a sacrifice summon, and overpower her form. Well as long as its not a trap that she had in that hand_."

_Nivio-Absolute (Stage 2), 6/2400/2400 Dark/Warrior  
This card cannot be normal summoned or set, this card can only be special summoned by the effect of 'Nivio-Absolute (stage 1)'.  
This card is not affected by spell cards that do not target. Once per turn, you can tribute a monster card on your side of the field, to increase this cards ATK and DEF by an amount equal to the original ATK and DEF of the sent monster. During your standby phase, by removing this face-up card and one 'Amana Baker' in your hand or graveyard from play, special summon 1 'Nivio-Absolute (Perfect Form)' from your hand or deck or graveyard._

On a lower level. Cadron didn't even get to take off and already he noticed something bizarre. "_The radar is going 'haywire', as they say_." A large number of blips began to surround Tower 0013, and some blips headed for Temple Soft. _"I guess the national guard found out about our involvement with the satellites. Oh well. Project Zetto..no.. Kyutora, requires only a few more sacrifices_._ Just in case, I will have to assist Simon with the ritual_." He stepped into his escape pod. "I will have to use 'dive mode." He closed the window and was about to blast along with the capsule into the ocean below. "Oh before I forget." Yet he pushed a remote first and broke it between his fingers afterwards. At the same time, the device left behind in Justine's office began to click, very softly. "_No hard feelings Loveless. But this ends our partnership, not even you can escape the Kartels fate. I already managed to delete Marcus and Ivar did it himself. There will only be one witness_." Finally he blasted out of the now endangered fortress.

Back up, William Carter barged into the open room. "I found you!" He was out of breath. When he looked to his left he saw Colins body as well. "All of you." He would have smiled if he was not so tired. "But why are you..dueling?" He was naturally confused to see two friends engaged in a fight. "She has been possessed, like Cable." The goth explained, Carter gasped. "Nonsense, I have become what I always wanted. No longer kind but strong." The malicious Christine told them. "Oh..oh no. Not now." He moaned. "I just got..a call from...the national guard. Believe it or not." He was still wheezing. "We have to go now, they sent a helicopter to pick us up." Rose flinched, Cleo was relieved. "So the army finally stopped being blind when it comes to Tum'aga? Good!" However, certainly as a response to this information, the brainwashed girl played her card. "Seal of Orichalcos!" Sealing both players behind the curse of the green light. "Rose!" Will shouted. "You wont get away!" She yelled back. "I will not let Justine down, no, I will win!"

Justine had heard every word and was shocked. She cursed herself for being distracted by the duel. "_At least those kids aren't going anywhere_." She saw it on the radar, Tower 0013 was surrounded too. "_This is Ivars fault. He did not keep his branch under check, now the secrets out. But in that case_.." And then the ticking started. "Huh?" She looked behind and saw the suspicious suitcase. "_That is Cadrons_...no!?" She rushed to the case, and opened it. Inside was a complex mechanical/chemical bomb, to detailed for her to solve. "You bastard!" There was even a timer, an old-fashioned clock. The scientist appreciated the decoration. "You wont.." There were only five seconds left, she moved as fast as she could. "Ruin my.." She picked it up, only to find that it had gotten far too heavy to be moved. "No." And there was no time to run away. "Why?" The blast encompassed her, and the entire control room. Smoke and fire blew through corridors, ripping through windows, surging out into the sky. Sir Schmidts remote hit its target.

The blast waves also hit the dueling room, the sound waves that is. "The heck?" Will looked up, and he smelled something. "What is that..its smoke?" The place began to rumble. "Very not good." He could feel that they were dropping, losing altitude. "Hey what the hell is happening!" Cleo cursed as she could barely stand up. Even the evil Christine was surprised, but otherwise not bothered. "I do not know. But this fortress is not stable. We have to make a run for it, to the chopper!" He ran to Sairve's body and carried him over his shoulder. "This is no time for quotes. In case you did not notice, this game has become another one of thise life and death situations. Even if I wanted to leave, I can't." She touched the circle, which shocked her finger. "Just go! I will beat her and drag her offof the ship." William stared. "Dont give me that look. You advocate efficient time use, so use time well!" Thats all she said. "Okay.." He was determined now, and ran off. "But I will come back for you, so please win this game, please!"

Caine looked back at 'Christine' and drew her next card to continue the duel. "Let us do this Christine." Cleo tributed both the reaper and her facedown monster to normal summon the 8-star: Despair from the Dark (2800/3000). "I was planning on killing your Absolute with it. But now thats its strengthened by The Seal (2900/2900).. seems I am forced to do this." She activated the spell card Mind Control, sending the Nivio to her side of the field. "Urk." Rose did not seem to like this control shift, as she started to cringe. "It can't attack you directly, sadly. But..Despair can!" The zombie slashed across the girl with its purple claws. "I end my.." But strangely Rose was still spasming even after the damage step. "Hey, whats wrong with you?" She looked at her, as she dropped to one knee. "Don't stall for time you.." And then a gentle voice interrupted her. "Cleo?" The goths eyes widened. "Whats going on?" It was not the bad one, it was the normal one. The vicious glint in her eyes was gone. "Impossible, you were...mind controlled?"

Rose's LP: 2200

"Weren't you?" She delayed her turns endphase, for now. "No its..its me Cleo." She pleaded. Now it sounded like her. "I do not now whats happening, but...those cards." She saw Nivio-Absolute Stage 2 standing on Cleo's side of the field. "They aren't good.. Cant you feel their presence?" She shivered. "You mean to say.." Suddenly she understood. "I controlled it, I took it away from you. That means.." Now that she thought about it, not once since the duel began had her opponents field been devoid of the Nivio cards. "Justine created these cards, built in some secret that allowed her to keep your real spirit under control with the Rod-machine." Rose herself barely understood it all. But with the mindrod device destroyed already, she was only kept in check by the Nivio cards. "We are dueling because..of them. And the seals been activated, we can't surrender can we?" Christine was confused, but she did know that she could end it all by putting her hand on the deck. However before any of that could happen, Nivio-Absolute returned to her field.

"Aaah!" The dueldisk forced the endphase to pass. "I am back!" She cackled. "Gah, damn it, this damned device. And you aren't even real, get lost already!" Cleo had come so close to a resolution. "Too bad, I dont care if this ship crashes, as long as we both die for Tumaga's sake..." She activated Pot of Avarice, sending five monsters back into her deck. "I wont send any Baker cards back, feh." Instead she sent Nivo monsters (Two Nivio Births, two Nivio Orders and one Nivio Life). In turn she could draw two new cards. "The Seal does not wait, we have to move on." If a duelist waited on a turn for more then five minutes, the seal would claim their soul automatically. "Its time for the Perfect Form." This time the Absolute incorporated Amanda Bakers cells, she removed her from her hand. It became the perfect Absolute, human eyes, human skin, an almost perfect clone of the Bakers (3300/3500) except for the angel wings. "Almost there, we will soon have a goddess. Not that it matters, you already can not win anymore!"

_Nivio-Absolute (Perfect Form), 8/2800/3000 Dark/Warrior  
This card cannot be normal summoned or set, this card can only be special summoned by the effect of 'Nivio-Absolute (stage 2)'. __This card is not affected by spell cards. You can tribute monster cards on your side of the field, to increase this cards ATK and DEF by an amount equal to the original ATK and DEF of the sent monster. During your standby phase, by removing this face-up card and one 'John baker' in your hand or graveyard from play, special summon 1 'Nivio-GODDESS' from your hand or deck or graveyard._

She normal summoned a seal-powered Kyle Baxter (1700/2500) and immediately it was drained alive by Amanda's Nivio, its original stats fused with hers(4500/5500). "She is even immune to spells!" She struck Despair and killed him completely. "And once she hits the godform, she will be immune to all effects!" Her turn was over, but her sadism seemed to know no end. "All effects huh." Caine looked at her hand, her one spell: Mask of the Accursed, would not help her anymore. "Then this is..my final turn." She closed her eyes and pulled the last card. "..." She looked at the card with a disinterested glare. "And now it leaves me no choice." She summoned Newdoria (1200/1500). "When you kill this, your Nivio will die." She stated. "No it wont! Only John remains to be eaten, and then you will face a power beyond perfection, a goddess!" She laughed loudly. "You already told me that. Goodbye." And then she attacked, slamming Newdoria straight into the angelic Nivio. "What?!" And the lifepoints were wiped out.

Cleo's LP: 0

"Why did you.." And the bitterness in her tone mellowed out, as Nivio's perfect form began to melt. She had won the duel but The Absolute was still destroyed. "Because it had to end one way or another. I couldn't win, if I waited one more turn, even Newdoria would not have been able to destroy The Absolute. At least now the Nivio's are gone." Indeed the death of her dark warrior had removed Justine's influence for good, Loveless was not in any position to complain about it. "No, why did you do this, you didnt need to lose." And she was utterly shocked now that her good side had returned. "I told you, you told me, I couldn't win." She looked down and saw the circle at her feet. "If you are sad, dont be. You would have done the same for me." And then her soul was claimed, taken to the abyss. "NO!"

(To be continued in Testament 111: Party Crasher)

**New Cards used by Christine Rose**_  
Nivio-Absolute (Stage 1)  
Nivio-Absolute (Stage 2)  
Nivio-Absolute (Perfect Form)_


	111. Testament 111: Party Crasher

Testament 111: Party Crasher

The helicopter finally arrived. But it could not land on the slowly descending flying fortress, it could only fly above it. "Nero?" Carter was surprised to see that his friend on board the vehicle. "Long story." He shouted over the fierce winds. "Where are the others?" He only saw Colin and Carter, so naturally he was confused. "Also a long story." One of the other soldiers then dropped a ladder, and climbed down it. "Hurry up kid, this thing is not going to last for long." He grunted. "I can't leave yet, people are still inside." He did not understand why she had not shown up yet. "Wait, maybe they dont know where.." He realized he had forgotten to to tell them that. "How much time can you give me?" The soldier looked at him and grumbled. "Its hard to tell, this thing wont last longer than 5 minutes. If you aren't back by then, we will leave." Will nodded "Take him." He handed over Colins body. "Wait for me Nero!" He waved at his friend and raced back into Temple Soft. He hoped that the girls would still be at the last place he had seen them.

And they were, he saw them both inside the same room. "Christine!" Only one was standing. "Cleo!" The goth lay there on the floor, her soul had been claimed by the Seal of Orichalcos. Rose stood over, silenced. "Rose are you.." He was not sure at first if she was back to normal. "William?" She flinched. From the look of sorrow on her face, he could tell that she was free of mind again. "I did not ...I did not want this! She defeated herself..just to save ." She sobbed. "I know, I know. This is not your fault." He assured her as he moved closer to Caine. "But it is! I had to duel her, and .." He picked her up like he had done with Sairve. "Now is definitely not the time to be worrying about that. We have to get out of her. Her body is still intact, we just have to save her soul before its gone for good." The girl was still not moving. "Look. I wont say that I know how you feel. But I experienced loss too, and I know that I can't let grief swallow me. We have to move on Christine" Literally in this case, the place started shaking. "So come on, lets show Tumaga once more." The place rumbled again, and yet all was quiet for the two. "O..kay." Finally her tears stopped. "Lets do it." She wiped her face and followed her friend.

"Bastard." Justine was still alive, but barely. She took the bomb at close range, and somehow she had enough life left to curse his name one last time. "All of them." She spat. Her wounds were too much however, she would not last much longer. "Taking it so...serious." She coughed, her vision dimmed. "And I...I." All went slowly dark, and she felt as if her body was pulled down into a deep pit. She thought she saw glimpses of other figures, other lost souls like Ivar or the vampire Glyph. Her existence flashed before her eyes, but it was not the kind of flash she expected. She could not get back into the past, she stopped at a dark corner of her being. "...." Loveless could not move, all she could do was watch as the darkness grew closer and closer. And a single bright star shone. "Goodbye..."

"They are back!" Nero was relieved to see the others return with minutes to spare. "Oh no..." But less relieved to see Caine's current state. "Not her as well." The troops came down the ladder again. "Get on board now!" He picked up the girl and went up, Christine followed and Will was the last to climb up the rope ladder. They were soon all inside the chopper and not a minute to soon. "Damn that was close." They looked behind and saw Templesoft entering a quick turbulent descent. "Isn't Justine still inside?" Despite what she had done to her, Rose was none the less worried about their enemy. "Think so. But I have no clue where she ended up, and we cant go look for her now. For all we know she took an escape jet or something." The building fell further and further, until it pierced the clouds and overshadowed the sea below. "At least it wont do any damage to the countryside like this." They all watched as it collapsed with the water, sending waves everywhere. It did not explode, it merely sank to the bottom of the ocean.

"Thats that. That leaves only one threat of Tumaga." As the helicopter flew back towards the rest of the army, there were some questions. "Sooo... why is the army helping us. Arent we fugitives?" Carter asked carefully, eying the soldiers guns. "Its okay. They know the truth." He quickly told them about what happened back at the satellite launching facility, how Ivar had shown his true colors in front of the colonel of that base. "Once that alliance was put into question, the royal house itself began to look at Tum'aga, the company behind the launches. They did not trust the virus story either." And now a regiment was sent towards the headquarters of the disturbance, tower 0013. "We were lucky enough to hitch a ride with the first wave of choppers." We meaning: Jackson and him. "We also sent out warnings to all Tumaga branches. Temple soft did not respond, instead we contacted this kid here." The Co-pilot pointed at William. "We found you in time." He sounded rather confused himself, as if he could not believe all this mess.

"The other company allied with Tum'aga, that did answer to our calls. Some fellow named Fraser who works at Outerdeck, heclaims to know you." He explained. "Yeah we know him too." Will confirmed. "I assume we can trust his word then. He wanted you to know that he is planning something on his own." But they would have to wait for further elaboration, as they closed in on their true target. "There it is." They saw the tower, surrounded by a battle fleet. "We got them." It looked like a warzone. Some fighting must have been going on, as smoke rose from several floors of the tower. "I will take us down." As they flew over, they saw another friend in the middle of the troops. "Doe!" They could not meet him right now however. The Persona duelist had gone along with the ships, as such he arrived here first. While the others were rescued, the navy had breached the buildings walls and entered the complex. The casualties seemed to be few in number, some wounds, no dead. Only the white coats layed strewn across the beach.

"It was not as hard as we thought. Several men offered resistance, but.." One soldier dropped a metallic corpse on the sand. "These things aren't human." The lieutenant shivered. "That this mining facility had gone so far with their technology. First the satellites, now these cybernetics." Doe however walked up the commanding officer. "Sir. Was anyone else inside, did your men check the entire building?" He looked concerned. "Well we are still waiting for reports. But so far we haven't found a single soul, let alone this Creed person. The conference room, his chamber, everything was empty. We still have to fumigate the lower levels. For some reason they are filled with poisonous vapors." He shrugged. But the symbolist had other things in mind. "Simon is not in here, he can only be in one place." He stared out into the sea.

Several fathoms below the surface, a villainous business man was brooding. "Curses, curses! They found out to soon, we dont have every soul yet. And I can't set the satellites to fire, since I am in range of the beams too now." He was not alone. "Only we made it here, the Kartel fell so fast." Cadron stood behind him, and the SIM-intelligence network was also installed. The former had come here with his sub-pod. "Calm down, they can not find us here. Even if they know about this place, it will take them hours to prepare the submarines. I say we start the ritual anyway." He snickered. "What? We can not do that without 'that' soul! Thats why we started that insane tournament in the first place, to find the Pharaoh! One of those kids has it, we must get them here!" He snapped. "There is a method" SIM suddenly spoke up, surprising both Creed and Schmidt. "Eh? What would that be?" The scientist was intruiged. "A Lure. The target is attracted to souls 183822 and 183825. They want to be here. There is one defense that only their dragon can pass" They suddenly got what it was talking about. "Thats it, we can use the Orichalcum." Simon smiled again. "SIM! Activate the main crystal, put up a perimeter around the city. Let them come!"

"As I feared." Jackson sighed as the soldiers came with more reports. They found the underwater tunnel complex, except the tunnels were blown to pieces and the shuttle pods were tossed to the bottom of the sea. "He sealed off all entrances, we can not get near him." Of course they could try to attack the place with torpedoes or stuff like that. But soon that too would become an act of futility. "Sir. Whats that light?" One of the navymen pointed to the south, where a green glow tainted from the surface. "That is." In the next minute, the light ruptured the water and blasted upwards into the sky. Everyone saw it, from the battle fleet to the duelists inside the chopper. A wide circle came from below and reached all the way up to the first satellite, Orichalcum mana surrounded the city. "Incredible!" The water itself was forced open, revealing the legendary sunken city in between. It was wide open except for the fact that a large wall now shielded it from every angle. "That is also his doing?" No weapon manmade could cut through.

Ten minutes later..

"FIRE!" The fleet admiral shouted. Several of the battleships launched an earsplitting salvo of guided missiles and cannon fire at the city in the middle of the sea. Loud explosions followed the cascade of naval artillery, and then there was silence. "In all of damnation.." They were all dumbstruck, none of their weapons had managed to penetrate the pale light so far. All rockets exploded prematurely and all bullets bounced off the edge. "What kind of bloody defensive measure is that?" The admiral growled. "No idea sir. We can't measure any output. If it is an energy type, we have no records on it. The generator must be inside the ruins" A nearby officer said as he checked the charts. "And what about out progress with those satellites of theirs? Did we stop even one of the five?" He asked another technician. "Negative sir. They emit some kind of interfering frequency, it jams all other technological equipment that gets within a ten mile radius. All our missiles could not reach it, and we cant find any signal to turn them off."

"We'll take them." A medic said to Nero and William, as they took care of Colins and Cleo's bodies. They had set up a small infirmary bay on the island, to take care of the few that had been wounded by Tower 0013's soldiers. "Not that it will do any good" Nero sighed. Only the destruction of the Orichalcum could save their body and minds. "Come on. We can't do anything for them here, lets find Jackson again." The two and Christine walked up to the ship that had docked on the island harbor. There was Doe and he did not look happy. "They still didn't get through?" Rose gasped, Jackson shook his head. "Gah. That coward Simon is biding his time inside the city. I dont even want to know how much time we have left." William cursed. Then the symbolist looked up, and tried to sense the locations of all five satellites again. "Two hours...before midnight." He said at last. "What, so it will still happen today?" Nero looked to the west, the sun was already setting. "We have less then three hours, the place is right there and we cant get into it."

"Maybe there is a way." She said suddenly, and looked at her disk. "What do you mean?" Rose then took out a card from her deck. Luckily Justine had not bothered to remove Hermos from her deck. "Maybe the dragons can break through. Remember what Edgar said, Atlantian magic can negate Atlantian magic?" They did recall the demonstration, when he managed to shut down Anima's copied powers. "So? You think we can shatter the shield with Hermos and Timaeus?" Carter took out the blue dragon card as well, and stared at it. "Why not? These two already helped us fly all over the place." Nero shrugged. "And its not like we will lose anything by trying. We cant afford to wait around." William sighed. "Thats my line. And I agree." He nodded at her, she nodded back. "Eye of Timaeus! Claw of Hermos!" They shouted and the blue red light blasted up into the clouds. "What is that?" The marines cried out in fear and shock. "Is that power again?" The men from Ivars branch said, being somewhat more familiar with the oddities.

"That was easier then I thought it'd be." William stated. They only had to summon their dragons, mount them and fly towards the sealed city. The slid through the magic field as if it were made of water. "But the hard part is yet to come I fear." They looked down and saw the sunken city in the midst of the air bubble. As if Mozes had shown up and cleared a single patch of the sea just for Tumaga. "We wont have to swim at least. I hope." They had the feeling that at any time Simon could play a cruel trick on them and drop the barrier, flooding them all. Simone tried that once. "Well lets get down there, we know what the target is." They descended into the pit surrounded by waterfalls, and came closer and closer to the center of their problems. There below was the giant shard of Orichalcum, brimming with stolen souls.

"Simple enough. We blow it up, and all captured people will be free again, right?" Christine asked around, nobody contradicted her. "This is for everyone who was taken!" Hermos and Timaeus inhaled and released jets of blue-red flames. After a minute of the colorful inferno, they ceased their attack. "It didnt work?" The crystal was virtually undamaged, pale light flickered around it. "What are we supposed to do now?"

(To be continued in Testament 112: Final Destination: Where Souls Are Held)


	112. Testament 112: Where Souls are Held

Testament 112: Final Destination: Where Souls are Held

Deep in the bowels of the sunken city, Simon and Cadron awaited the placement of the satellites. Three were already in formation, two needed more time. "The wait is agonizing isnt it?" The scientist Cadron teased. "You are this close to what both your sister and your father could not obtain. And you had to lose so many commodities to get here." He cackled. "You won't make me regret this decision. I came this far to abandon all those riches. They bored me.." And just then the alarm went off. "The hell is...SIM?" He called out to his AI, a monitor revealed itself. "What is happening, why did the perimeter alarm go off?" It then turned on the view to the outside world. "**Two signals have penetrated the outer shield, their energy source indicates Atlantian origin**." He saw two dragons with four duelists on them swopping through the circle. 'Not them again! How did they get...god damn magic!" He slammed his hand against the wall. "Such a nervous display, sir Creed. There is no need for it. This is what we wanted remember?"

Because even if the dragons could get near Atlantis, they could not destroy the large Orichalcum crystal which held the souls of so many victims.. "Maybe it has its own shield, or perhaps it absorbs energy strikes." William started deducing. "In that case a physical attack is the best option!!" His dragon Timaeus charged, claws first. "WAIT!" Jackson shouted quickly, looking rather pained. "Don' t touch it, your soul will get drained too!" At the last second the pair stopped but an inch away from the green jewel. "You're sure?" He turned around and saw Doe's stern expression. "But..how did you know?" Was the next question. "I can still sense it's malice. The part of me which has been inside Orichalcum before. This is not as easy to destroy, this container. We need to find the core, the true core. Otherwise we will only hurt those inside." Next a buzzing sound surrounded the four. "Eh guys." Nero glanced around, and started to sweat. "I think someone had a rather nasty idea." They were encircled by dozens and dozens of cyborgs

"About mass production and colorful assassins." They all looked like Eidos, Illya and Xifos, and they all released fireballs at the intruders. "Damn, they saved the best machine men for last." Carter cursed. "We can't handle all those with just two dragons." Christine moaned. "Well maybe we could...ya know like we did in the memory world." Nero pulled out a card. "It's worth a shot." One of the Illya's came forward, lashing out with flames. "Elemental Hero Ocean!" He summoned his oceanic spear warrior, who summoned a torrent of water to douse the flames. "I cant believe that worked. Thats what Cleo would say." His eyes were widened with... joy. "We can do this." Jackson summoned a monster as well. "These guys are just shells. We beat them before, we can do it again." William rasped, as he stuck to Timeaus. "We will break through anything Simon throws at us." Christine summoned a warrior. "Attack!" And both sides of the army dove into each other, a fierce battle erupted. "Take this, and this!"

Neither side gained the winning edge though; the cyborgs fell like bricks, but more and more came from open chutes in the city. "Stop coming already!" The dragons held their ground, but other duel spirits were killed one at a time. "We aren't getting anywhere, they must have stored half a thousand in here." Jackson grumbled as he replaced his latest Persona. "It is nothing we can not handle! But we do not have all day." Nero yelled as one of his monsters collapsed. "You two, you have the dragons so you stand the best chance of reaching the core." He pointed at the dragon duelists. "Go on ahead without us!" Rose flinched. "What? But we can not leave you." She protested. Will however had alredy accepted the plan. "No, they are right. We have to move on, let them take this challenge." He inspected the area below the giant crystal and figured that that was the center of Atlantis. "How will we get through the gate then, isn't it closed?" She asked. "No, we won't waste time on that. We will go straight through...the roof." He smirked, fused Timeaus with one of machines, giving it a titaniumstrong skin. The two headed down at a straight angle. They passed the assassins and neared the middle dome. "Hold on!" Timaeus sharpened its aura and pierced through concrete.

They crashed through the ceiling and ended up in a large circular hall, surrounded by murals. They were at the core.

"Well well, what have we here." A familiar voice welcomed the intruders. "Two rats flushed down into the core room. How annoying." The lights turned on and revealed the true shape of this part of Atlantis. It was a large circular hall, surrounded by high walls who were covered with ancient atlantian glyphs. The entire structure was saturated with modern technology, metal pillars to streghten the structure, wires to divert energy and chemical lights to provide the sanctuary with an eerie green appearance. "You." Simon was here, smugly standing behind a thick glass plate. "Welcome to the theatre hall. As I like to call it." He stood there much like where a projector would be when he or she changed reels in a movie theater. "Theatre?" And then they finally realized. "Is this.." The glyphs werent really glyphs. They were people, thousands and thousands of screens that showed people frozen solid. It was not a mural at all, it was a collective of screenshots. "this is where.." They even saw Colin, Marcus and Cleo.

"The souls are all here! You kept them here all this time?" William cursed. "No. This is just a database, in here we monitor how many souls we still need to start project Zetto. Right now we are still lacking a good portion." Many displays were empty. "The true energy is stored up there. "They looked up and gasped, the crystal brimmed with energy right above them. "And as you saw you can not destroy it, not without damaging all souls inside. They have been inside for far too long." He laughed. "There is still a way to save them!" Rose insisted as she activated her dueldisk. "We will fight you until the last man. At the very least we can stop your mad plan to wipe out the world." Carter did the same thing. "Oho.. very amusing. But you wont be able to touch me. You do not even understand what we are trying to raise, you never could." He started typing in something on his console. "Zetto right? Some demon from under the sea." William spat. "Heh, you will see for yourself. Unless you can get through my last defense."

Suddenly all lights changed intensity and half of the monitors switched to a new view. The glyphs were all just projections after all. "Come out SIM!" They became a composition of the Tumaga emblem, and the virtual face of the SIM network. "It again. You want to stop us with that?" They were surprised. Just then two others emitters turned on, hologram generators. "Duel mode" The machine created images of six cards in the middle of the room, and 34 cards on the walls. "Guess you do, with a duel." He looked at his partner, she nodded back. "But we will take it down together Christine, we can't waste time." Creed merely chuckled. "If you wish to double team the AI, go ahead. It won't even need to double its lifepoints." The meter was set at 8000 LP, so was theirs. "**Turn order decided. Player 1: This Unit, Player 2: William Carter, Player 3: Christine Rose.**" Everything was set, everyone had drawn their cards. "**Duel start: Main Phase**." And on its first it played the accursed field spell. **"Seal of Orichalcos"**

SIMs LP: 8000 Team Dragons LP: 8000

The Green Circle surrounded both duelists, trapping them physically and spiritually. Now they would have to lose their soul if they lost. "Damn, he played it so quickly." Next the computer summoned a monster from its 'hand'. "_**Pay 500 LP, special summon Orichalcos Kyutora to spell/trap zone**_" A small one-eyed sea-urchin-like critter showed up in the backrow, empowered by the seal (1000/1000). "End Turn" The others wondered what it did, that monster was new to them. "Well it will take more then that to intimidate us, Simon!" Will yelled at the man behind the glass. "Draw!" In his turn he summoned the Card Trooper (400/400) in attack mode. "Draw!" While Rose used her turn to normal summon Card Blocker (400/400) in defense mode. "_They covered both offense and defense in one turn, ey?" _Neither side could attack yet, so they built up an equal offense/defense. "That is all." SIM complied and started its turn. Simon still smirked. "_Those kids dont know what they are up against, they should not underestimate us_."

SIMs LP: 7500

_Orichalcos Kyutora, 4/500/500 Dark/Fiend  
This card can not be normal summoned or set, this card can only be special summoned from your hand by paying 500 Life Points. While this card is face-up on the field, any damage to your life points from a battle involving monster cards on your side of the field become zero._

**"Main Phase: Normal Summon Orichalcos Diablos."** In front of Kyutora came a devil made from lava (2000/500). "_2000 attackpoints? That is stronger then both our shield and gunner_" Christine thought, and the worst was yet to come. **"Continue Main Phase: Ritual Spell card: Orichalcos Mirror." **SIM started a ritual, discarding a lv-6 monsterfrom its hand to call out a ritual monster. "I don't know that card either." Carter flinched as a blue crystal (500/500) showed up in the Magic/Trap zone. **"Mirror Calling summoned in spell/trap zone. Effect activates. It summons four [Mirror Knight] Tokens to the field when ritual summoned**." And then came four warriors in shining reflective armor, each had a base attack of zero points, and the seal powered them up lightly (500/500). "Cripes, now he has seven monsters on the field." Most were up front, the others were hiding behind the mirror knights. SIM was not playing around. "**Player 1 can not enter battle phase during the turn the spell is used. End turn.**"

_Orichalcos Diablos 4/1500/0 Fire/Fiend  
During your standby phase, you can change the battle position of 1 monster on your opponent's side of the field_

_Orichalcos Mirror, Ritual Spell  
This card is used to ritual Summon 'Mirror Knight Calling'. You must also tribute monsters whose total level stars equal 6 or more from the field or your hand._

_Mirror Knight Calling, 6/0/0 Dark/Rock  
This card can only be special summoned with the ritual spell card 'Orichalcos Mirror'.  
When this card is succesfully ritual summoned, special summon 4 'Mirror Knight Tokens' to your side of the field. You can not enter the battle phase during the turn this card is summoned._

_Mirror Knight Token, 1/0/0 Dark/Warrior/Token  
Summoned by the effect of 'Mirror Knight Calling'. This cards attackpoints are equal to the original attackpoints of the monster it does battle with.  
As long as 'Mirror Knight Calling' is face-up on your side of the field, once per turn if this token would be destroyed, it is not destroyed.  
(If [Mirror Knight Calling] leaves your side of the field, these effects can only be activated once more this duel.)_

At the very least now they were given a chance to strike back. "Care to explain what these cards do, Simon?" Carter asked as he could not read the card text clearly. "If you must know. These tokens will imitate any attack that strikes them, that is why they are called mirrors." Simon gloated. "I see. But does that count for original or current attack?" He smiled as he discarded cards for Card Trooper, powering it up by 500 for every card (1900/400). "Original attack. So yes Card Trooper should be able to kill a soldier." Creed was smiling too. "But at what cost eh Carter?" Alas the three discarded cards were Twinheaded Behemoth, Power Bond and Timaeus. "Oh no." They cringed. "Oh yes, you just threw away your own trump card." The villain could not contain his laughter. "Argh. Laugh at this!" In frustration he fired a shot at one of the mirror warriors. It could not copy the enemy's attack and had to defend with its shield. "Oh wait. I also forgot to mention that as long as Mirror Knight Calling is on the field, they cant be destroyed."

"What?" Only the shield blew up. "But I still hurt you!" He protested. Yet the overflowing damage did not reach the AI. "Now?" Instead the energy flew right into the open eye of Kyutora, it was drained into the critter. "Also, Orichalcos Kyutora absorbs all the damage that the duelist receives, if a monster is attacked. Hahahah." And Carter could not attack Mirror Calling who made those damn shield, not while it was in in the MT-zone. "Grrrr. No matter what I do, I can't kill the knights then." He placed a monster facedown. "But..Christine can."

He looked at her, she nodded. "I pass the turn to her!" She then drew and glared at the one knight that had lost his shield. "Yes my dear, it wont come back until SIMs standby phase." Simon sighed. "In that case." She summoned Eric Baxter, the final member of the Baxter family (1800/1700). "This warrior can raise his attack as well, by discarding a card from my hand." She threw away an equip spell and boosted the martial artist by 500 points (2300/1700). "So your Mirror Knight will still be weaker by 500 points!" The Ryu-Kai Master launched a direct kick at the shieldless token (1800/500). She came very close too. "Hey?" Yet at the last instant, another knight took the blow. "What the heck? They have the power of interception too?" The second soldier lost its shield, but Kyuotora absorbed the lifepoint damage once more. "That was nowhere in the card text!" She had to end her turn. "Who knows eh? Not every power is written in words, I guess the knights have a special bond that you dont know about." He explained, but SIM did not wait around

_Eric Baxter: Ryu-Kai Master, 4/1800/1700 Dark/Warrior  
By discarding a card from your hand, you can increase the attack of this card by 500 until the end of your turn._

**"Orichalcos Diablos effect activates during the standby phase: switch Card Blocker to attack mode.**" Card Blocker dropped his guard **"Enter Battle Phase**" And the onslaught began, with the Blocker in attack mode, it could not use its effects at all. It was slain by a mirror knight (500/500), the second targeted Erix Baxter. He mirrored him (1800/500) and slew the warrior, though he lost its shield. The third (500/500) killed Card Trooper (Allowing Will to draw a new card). Finally Diablos had come forth to kill the card that Will had set, a Hunter Dragon (1700/100). And the fourth Mirror Knight (500/500) attacked Carter directly. "There are just too many." Their entire offense had been wiped out in one phase. And during the endphase, three of four knights regained their broken shields, they were regenerated by Calling. "And this is nothing yet, only the tip of the iceberg. SIM is equiped with the cards of all Atlantian corruptions. You children can not touch me! And in less than two hours, all hell will be unleashed!"

Team Dragons LP: 7300

(To be Continued in Testament 113: Final Destination: Upon Reflection)

**New Cards used by Christine Rose**_  
Eric Baxter: Ryu-Kai Master_

**New Cards used by S.I.M.**_  
Orichalcos Kyutora  
Orichalcos Diablos  
Mirror Knight Calling_

_-  
Seal of Orichalcos  
Orichalcos Mirror_

(+) All of SIMs cards are based on the deck used by Dartz in YGO Season 4


	113. Testament 113: Upon Reflection

Testament 113: Final Destination: Upon Reflection

"Damn it, how many did these people make?" Nero cursed. The two were surrounded by cyborgs, there were more now then when they started the fight. "Their resources do seem limitless." Jackson moaned. He had almost nothing left, neither did Jacobus. And the swarm was about to dive down upon them. However suddenly a bright light filled the area above Atlantis, blinding everything and every one. "What now?" The flashes continued, accompanied with loud noises. When the chaotic scenery had died down, all machine assassins had been reduced to scraps and/or dust. "I think we have ourselves a mysterious ally.."

SIMs LP: 7500 Team Dragons LP: 7400

Meanwhile the duel deep in the ocean continued. Carter and Rose had to compete with seven Orichalcos monsters at once. "We wont let this stop us, will we Christine?" He asked her, and she nodded again. "Simon, after everything we have faced, you will be hard pressed to impress us. We will take down your amy, one at a time." Carter used the effect of Cyber Dragon to special summon it (2100/1600) on his empty field, if the opponent had monsters on his. "Lets start with Diablos." The mechanic dragon fired a burst of evolution energy, and blew up the magma demon at last. However the stray sparks of energy were absorbed into Kyutora once again, it would keep absorbing battle damage until it died. "Thats one down." He sighed, placing a monster card and a trap card facedown. "Indeed."

"My turn!" Rose also summoned two monsters, she normal summoned an Armor Breaker(800/800). She also special summoned a Spell Striker(600/200), by removing an equip spell in her cemetery from play. "I combine the two!" The Union warrior joined with the Magic warrior, giving the Striker a hammer and a rod. "My trusty combo will destroy one card of yours at a time." Spell Striker could attack directly, and Armor Breaker gave it the ability to destroy one card on the field when its equipped companion inflicted damage. "Direct attack." Kyutora could not absorb damage from direct blows. The spell hit the walls below SIMs monitor, taking down 600 LP. "I choose to 'break' the Mirror Calling!" Then came the hammer which broke the Crystal monster into large fragments. "Now the Knights won't get new shields."

SIMs LP: 6900

"**Noted. Main Phase." **Of course it did not show any signs of alarm. "**Summon monster card, Orichalcos Gigas**" A chained titan came from the floor (900/500). "I know that card." Rose flinched. "Back in the memory world." Back then Orichalcos Soldiers summoned them in real-time duels. "It sounds painful." Will moaned. "Yeah, it kept coming back no matter what you do. That effect did not change probably." But SIM had not even begun. "**Continue Main Phase 1: Activating spell card: Orichalcos Deuteros**" Simons eyes flashed as the spell was played. "Ah yes..the second seal, heh." Suddenly a green circle surrounded the players, another circle that is. "Hey what is this, two seals?" Now the field had two outer rings, the shield got thicker. "Yes, in fact Orichalcos has three levels. This is but the second. Its function is to defend and restore lifepoints. 500 times the number of monsters during the standby phase." The villain gloated as SIMON prepared for a strike. "**Scanning..Battle Phase. Targeting**."

_Orichalcos Gigas, 4/400/0 Earth/Fiend  
If this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you can special summon this card during the end phase.  
Each time this effect is used, increase the ATK of this card by 500 in addition to any previous ATK increases by this card's own effect during this duel.  
As long as this card is face-up on the field, you can not enter your draw phase or add cards from your deck to your hand._

_Orichalcos Deuteros, Continuous Spell  
Activate only if 'The Seal of Orichalcos' is face-up on your side of the field.  
During your standby phase, increase your life points by 500 points for every face-up monster on your side of the field.  
When 1 of your opponent's monsters attacks your life points directly, you can tribute 1 monster on your side of the field from play to negate the attack and remove the attacking monster from play._

Before it struck though, it shifted two of its knights to defense mode. "_It suspects a trap?" _And then one knight raised its sword and targeted Cyber Dragon (2100/500) "Trap card!" Will however would not stand around for another massacre. "Radiant Mirror Force! You have more then three monsters on the field, so the holy barrier trap will destroy all attacking cards!" He explained as the knights were pushed back by the force, and Gigas was reduced to ashes even. "Pointless." However the Mirror Knights warded off the reflected damage with their now shattered shields. However their helmets started to crack as well. "**Activate effect of Orichalcos Gigas. During the endphase it is revived with 500 more attackpoints**" The two gasped as the Titan came back, stronger then before (1400/500). "So this is what you meant. Thats annoying. However two of the knights have permanently lost their shields now." Though it predicted something like that trap, since it switched half its army to defense before. "I wont lose this chance."

"There is another monster that can take care of the Mirrors. I summon Cyberdark Keel(800/800) and use its effect to equip it with the Twinheaded Behemoths power (2300/800)!" Christine realized why this was a clever plan. "If a cyberdarkling dies, only its equipment is lost." So only the Knight would get killed in the clash. "I target the left warrior!" The Behemothized machine shrieked and released black flames to the shieldless soldier. However, once again the attack was intercepted by one of its comrades. Knight # 3 (2300/800) gave up its shield to save # 2. And Keel lost the Behemoth equipment (800/800). "Ah but it will be back, thanks to its own effect." The twinhead then revived itself with weaker stats (1000/1000). By now three knights were without a defense, and their armor became brittle. The helmets were the first to crack. "Oh my." Thus leading to a shocking revelation. "What???" There were pale emotionless human faces under there, three faces that they knew: Colin, Cleo and Marcus.

"That cant be, how did..you do...this?" They were horrified. "Heh. Who knows. It could be a mere trick I added into the holograms, or it could be.." He snapped his fingers and gestured everyone to look at the screens. The tiles which had their friends on it before were now empty. "Their very souls, bound in a solid form."He sneered. "You wouldn't." Rose shivered. "Thats a question you should answer yourself. As friends can't you tell?" They looked at the trio once again. "No. I refuse.." Will said, not sounding very convincing. "This is..intimidation. It wont work." He growled and placed a trap card facedown. "Suit yourself, strike them down and find out." His turn was over, and his partner was still trembling. "Can I, can I hit them?" She tried to toughen up, but it didnt work. "Rose..." Carter felt the same way.

"I..I summon this card." She tributed two of Williams monsters, Twinheaded Behemoth and his facedown Cyber Ouroboros, to tribute summon John Baker (2000/2000). Already he equipped himself with the Sword of Light, making him immune to spells (2500/2000). "And I..I.." She could however not use him. "I will attack directly!" Instead she used Spell Striker again, and fired a blast that flew straight at the monitors displaying SIMs face. "**Negative**" However, before it got in range, a thick wall stopped it. The energy came from the second seal. "What?" And at the same time Orichalcos Kyutora blew itself to pieces. "**Continuous effect: By tributing a monster card, direct attacks cen be negated. And**" Without warning, the blast repulsed back towards the Striker, removing him and his Armor breaking from the field. "the direct attacker is removed from play" The AI was now immune from direct attacks, allthough it had to give up the card which prevented battle damage. "Christine..we have to attack with..." William yelled

But it was no use. "..End turn." She could not go through with it, she could not attack the knights if they had those faces. "**Noted. Skip Draw Phase due to Orichalcos Gigas. Standby Phase: Increase lifepoints by 500 for every monster on the field: 5 monsters = 2500 LP. Main Phase**" And the computer could not appreciate such feelings. Instead it turned its cold glare on the one who showed anger. "**Spell card: Twin-Bow Centaurs**" It played another continuous spell, in the shape of two headless archers, centaur archers. "**Ignition effect: once per turn two monsters are targeted. Then based on a coin flip, one will be killed, and the attack will damage the owner**." The two centaurs took aim. 'Targeting: Gigas and Cyber Dragon" Of course Gigas was the enemy's choice, since it would revive itself in the endphase anyway. "_Argh. My facedown trap: Cyber Hidden Technology could have stopped a normal attack, but not an effect_" His facedown was useless. "Flip" The simulated coin landed on heads, which signified the end of Williams monster. "No." The front arrow was set on fire, and released. It burned right through the machine dragon and pierced the shoulder of the duelist, inflicting 2100 effect damage.

SIMs LP: 9400 Team Dragons LP: 5200

_Twin-Bow Centaurs, Continuous Spell__Once per turn during your main phase 1 you can select 1 monster on your side of the field and 1 monster on your opponent's side of the field and flip a coin.  
If heads, destroy the monster on your opponent's side of the field and inflict damage to your opponent's life points equal to the original ATK of that monster card.  
If tails, destroy the monster on your side of the field and inflict damage to your life points equal to the original ATK of that monster card.  
You can not enter the battle phase as long as this card is on the field._

"Gah!" That was all it did for this round, since the spell stopped SIM from entering battle phases. "Curse you two... I wont be fooled. Damn it. Our friends can only be saved if I destroy those..faces." He summoned another Cyberdarkling, Cyberdark Horn (800/800). "If direct attacks wont work, then.." He equipped it with Hunter Dragon from his graveyard (2500/800). "..I can only afford to be direct. Double attack!!" Both cyberdark machines charged, Horn pierced the last shielded and helmeted knight. Allthough his face was not uncovered in the clash. "No more shields remain, I can take down anyone I wish." But still he suffered indecision, what if Simon was right after all? "Ggh. I will just save my friends for last. I attack Marcus!" The knight with Simmons face on it was smashed to pieces, the explosion clouded his dying expression, but there were no sounds of anguish. William wheezed. "The madness of Orichalcos..and Tumaga ends here." All the while Cadron was watching the duel too, seated just out of sight.

His mindgame was paying off. _"Hmm, but he only killed Marcus_." Cadron frowned, the kid still was not ready. Simon apparently saw that too. "So you slew one of four. But I dont think you even cared about Simmons." Carter ended his turn. "Christine its your turn. I know you don't want to attack the knights. But.." There was only one other monster on the field, Orichalcos Gigas, who would just keep coming back anyway. "But..I." She realized why Carter wanted her to attack the mirror soldiers. However, she did not have too. "Arms Hole." She activated a spell to discard the top card from her deck, to add an equipment card to her hand. "I add Johns Battle Armor to my hand, and equip it. Now my card can negate the effects of the monster it destroys." Will gasped, because now Baker (2700/2300) could kill Gigas and stop its revival at the same time. "Attack Gigas!" John unsheathed his lightsword and cut down the titan(500/500). It broke into a million pieces, from which it could not regenerate. "And that leaves your friends..."

SIMs LP: 8100

"I am not..done yet." She also activated Fairy of the Spring to take back the Shield of Light, which she had discarded earlier for Arms Hole. "_I can not activate this yet_.. End turn." She sighed. "**Noted, draw phase reurns. Standby phase, field effect.**" Three monsters were on his field, so the AI regained 1500 LP. "Ggh, almost right back where we started." He cursed. "**Main Phase 1: reactivate continuous effect of Twin-bow Centaurs. Targeting**.." It could not affect Baker, because of the spell immunity his sword gave him. "Targets: Mirror Knight # 2 and Cyberdark Horn" They tightened their bows, and one aimed at the female Mirror Knight. "No..he will shoot Cleo!" And one arrow caught flame, one intended for him "Not again." Another fire arrow shot through his machine and struck his arm. "Gah! You son of a.." He reeled from the blow. "**Battle skipped, end turn**" Will was seeting. "I can not forgive this." He would not take another hit like that, he would not. He had to summon something new in order to destroy that annoying spell.

SIMS LP: 9600 Team Dragons LP: 4400

He drew the right card too. "I summon Prototype Cyberdragon(1100/600)! And I use the spell card: Evolution Burst. My Cyber Dragon skips its battle phase, and instead I can destroy one card on the field." He knew exactly which one to take down, the small dragon fired a burst of energy that killed the archer twins. "Christine. Please, we have to save everyone, and we can only do that by attacking those three. If you dont want to know who it is, strike the helmeted one." He asked her. "But will they come back, if I hit them?" She shivered. "Nobody will come back if you dont!" He shouted. "I know! But I just.." She folded up, trying to stop all the shouting. "I can not do it!" But just then through the hole in the ceiling came Nero and Jackson. "More visitors?" Simon grumbled. "Or should I say more souls."

He wondered how they got passed security. "Guys!" Nero was relieved to see them still in one piece. though the joy did not last for long. "What is..going on?" He saw the two circles around the duel field, and the computer in front of them. And the images of all soulless people plastered on the walls. "This is where they all are?" Doe scanned the area, he saw people like Dieter and people that he did not recognize, very old people. "How long have you been doing this." There came no answer, and their attention was soon drawn towards thew faces of the mirror knights anyway. "Oh no, Colin, Cleo!" Jacobus did not understand what was happening at all. "Why are they." Will quickly cut him off. "Its a trick, thats what I say. SIM and Simon are trying to manipulate us. Come on Christine, you have to strike." The others realized that it was her turn, and she was frozen. "I see." Doe walked up to her, as close as he could. "Rose, trust me, you have to attack" She flinched. "No hear me out. I will be able to tell what happens to their souls" She looked behind her. "No matter where they go, I will find them." She looked closely and could see no deceit in his expression or lies in his voice. "O..kay." He had to be telling the truth, he had to. "I will...do it."

(To be continued in Testament 114: Final Destination: Red & Blue Front)

**New Cards used by William Carter**  
Cyber Ouroboros

-  
Cybernetic Hidden Technology

**New Cards used by S.I.M.**_  
Orichalcos Gigas_

_-  
Orichalcos Deuteros  
Twin-Bow Centaurs_

(+) Again all SIM cards are based on Dartz's deck from season 4


	114. Testament 114: Red & Blue Front

Testament 114: Final Destination: Red & Blue Front

SIMS LP: 9600 Team Dragons LP: 4400

Christine was no longer hesitating, the choice she mad to make was too terrifying, but Jackson helped her make it. "I place a monster facedown." She had to choose for the attack. "...Shield of Light." She handed John Baker the final equipment (3000/2500). "Evolve..into.. Kataryken." And for the second time, she managed to give Baker his ultimate form. Tributing John Baker along with Sword, Shield and Armor for Kataryken John Baker (4000/3500). He was immune to spells and traps, and could negate any monster effect. "Come then" Creed cackled. "I...strike!" She struggled to give the command, and Kataryken raised his sword. It came down upon the faceless knight, her attack imitation effect would not trigger due to the armor that Baker was wearing. Yet one more time again another shielded him from destruction. "NO!" Caine got in the way(500/500) and died in the process. "Cleo..no.." Two Mirror Knights remained. "Eheheh, thats the third time you 'killed' her. You must really hate her." The villain spoke with glee

SIMs LP: 6100

But then the symbolist stepped up "It wont work." He stared at the screens around him. "You may hide Cleo's body from sight, but you can't hide her spirit from our eyes. We have been inside your Orichalcum, we know when someone leaves and enters it." He pointed to the great Orichalcum crystal in the ceiling. "She has only returned there, safe and sound. Christine did not cause her pain." Rose was relieved immediately. "Your mindgame has ended, Simon. We wont hold back anymore." They smiled. Now all they had to do was take down his final two soldiers, and they would win. "You really think that? You think that this is all of our power?!?" The last helmet began to crumble. "SIM, show them our true power. Show them your true self!" To their shock, the head underneath the helmet turned out to be nonexistant. It was an empty shell, living armor. "The fourth knight is not one of your friends, its mine..my father." The machine's standby phase started and the second seal gave it 1000 LP for the two monsters on its field.

SIMs LP: 7100

"Your father?" Nero shivered. "Yes. I assume one of the Kartel members told you. How he died due to prolonged exposure to radiation. And also that our artifical aid here is based on his knowledge. But it goes deeper then that. Its based on his very soul, and his mind." The virtual display of the SIM emblem turned into that of a single brain, inside a glass case with wires. Every screen showed the same picture. "This is what has become of my fake father. The first soul to merge with project Zetto. His determination drives our entire network. And now..it will vanquish you." All of the sudden, both the headless knight and the Colin knight were tributed. "Let us tribute summon the ultimate Orichalcos being: Orichalcos Thanatos!" The pieces of broken armor, shields and weaponry floated around, adopting a new shape: one of an armored reaper complete with his trusted scythe(3500/3500). "Thanatos?" It looked like a mirror knight, except for the deathlike qualities. "Where did Colin go?" Rose feared the worst. "'They' are in there." Jackson grunted.

_Orichalcos Thanatos, 8/3000/3000 Dark/Fiend  
If [Seal of Orichalcos] is face-up on your side of the field, once during your main phase you can switch this cards current attack with 1 face-up monster that has the highest ATK, until the end of the turn.  
If [Orichalcos Deuteros] is face-up on your side of the field, you can use this effect in your opponents main phase as well.  
If [Orichalcos Tritos] is face-up on your side of the field, this effect can not be negated or chained too._

Just then the monster raised his shield, and mirrored Kataryken, it too had the power of 'reflection'. But differently, instead their attackpoints were exchanged (Kataryken: 3500/3000, Thanatos: 4500/3500). "What the?" And before she could object, the scythe was thrown away. It bounced off against the walls, floor and ceiling and ripped her strongest warrior to shreds. "Nothing can kill Thanatos, this is the greatest soldier in the atlantian army. And Sim Creed was the last descendant from that royal heirline." The weapon returned to the clawed gauntlet of the reaper, and its attack went back to normal (3500/3500). "Heir?" William blinked. "Sigh. Do I have to teach you people everything? I suppose it fits the role I am playing right now though." He lowered his head and chuckled. "In that case, I will give you a summary.."

Team Dragons LP: 3400

"I will tell you exactly why Atlantis sank into the sea. It began 3000 years ago..."

"SIM Lets make this story more understandable for the dimwitted amongst us." The front screens turned on to a new scene. The monitor showed an animated view of the ocean. "I am sure you have heard some rumors about this fine city, a civilization lost to time and water. And now you have now seen the place for yourselves, you know that it is not just a legend. Atlantis sank here, a metropolis as advanced as egyptian and roman kingdoms. Sadly, not even we can fully reconstruct its history from what he have found. However..." His lips curled. "We can date the time of its ruination. Our computers have told us that this whole area had been in contact with air until 3000 years ago...give or take." He glared at the four, as if he was looking for something. "3000 Years? That was.." This sounded familiar. "Yes, there was a war. The doom of atlantians started as soon as they came in contact with...them!" He pointed at Nero, specifically the chain around his neck. "What?" He looked down at the puzzle, hidden behind his coat.

"Egypt destroyed Atlantis." He chuckled. "Atlantis was not just a kingdom limited to the atlantic ocean. It was started by sea travellers yet, but their next of kin wanted to spread out, to ally itself with the main land." It was the common thing of those times to claim other lands. "But then they came across the pharaohs realm. And as you know, that kingdom had a secret power. The king and his men could summon spirits, beings born from a humans Ka, powered by a humans Ba." The spirit and the soul respectively. "When envoys from across the seas came to the kingdom, they wanted to join with him and exchange their knowledge. But the pharaoh would have none of it and dimissed the emissaries. Yet the Atlantian ruler was not easily deterred, and they created their own method to extract monsters from people's hearts. You probably know what this source was." They did not take long to figure it out indeed. "Orichalcum." William rasped. "Indeed. It was a rare metal which grew only on the seabeds around Atlantis, an important trading commodity."

And the largest shard filled the dome they stood in with green light. "However it had magical properties as well. They say gold is a good magical conductor, like the gold of the seven items, but so is this mineral. After study and observation they knew enough to breed their own army of duel monsters. And they did not worship the gods of the Millenium, they worshipped the sea." All of this was illustrated on the screen in front of them, a fierce war seemed to erupt. "Egypt destroyed Atlantis, fearing its growth. They had to use their gods to smite them." Suddenly Nero spoke up. "But..its not like that." He stepped forward, holding on to his puzzle. "The atlantians brought themselves to ruin, by seeking such a power. They were greedy, envious." Simon stopped smiling. "I assume a memory in that weird puzzle told you this, or perhaps one of those turncoat dragons." If they could even talk. "You see, those four were made from the four greatest swords from the four greatest swordsman in the city: Timaeus, Hermos, Critias and Socrates.

"But three betrayed us and went to the egyptians. Then they saw which path was righteous. They saw the corruption of the Orichalcum before it could turn them. Socrates, the fourth one, was not so fortunate." Nero continued. "There was the great clash." They all looked at the display which showed thousands of soldiers and monsters dueling in the seabound kingdom. The sacred beasts were there too, until. "Atlantis even tried to copy the Egyptian Gods with Raviel, Uria and Hamon. This caused their downfall." Then a great blast from the sky followed, and Atlantis began to sink. "You insulted the gods, and they judged your city, condemning it to the abyss." Creed scoffed at this story. "You seem to know it all so well. But this clash ended a great dynasty. Only remnants of the city were left, surviving clans that attacked the Pharaoh time after time, until nothing of the fued remained. But.. their bloodline did not die, some survivors escaped to the European continent. Their blood was distributed, diluted, but eternal."

"Do you know why Sim adopted me and my sister?" He grinned maniacally. "Not because of his games, that was just an excuse he fed to us. It is because I am a true descendant! I have Atlantian blood within me as well! I might as well have been a son to him. And now, here, I will continue the work of my ancestors. Project Zetto is the revival of Atlantis' last gambit." The screen showed the image of the entire ocean turning black. "Zetto uses the souls of the world, it drains their Ba, their Ka. To make a spirit greater then the gods, greater then the dragons and the demons. Only I can control such power, only I can conquer the world through Orichalcos." He snapped his fingers, and all screens turned off. The solid vision holograms returned to the room. "You have." He checked his watch. "Fifteen minutes left. After that I will direct the satellites to drain all of England, and feed it to the crystal..no...'it'." The story was over, the duel could continue. Carter took a deep breath "Thats your motivation, for all of this madness.."

Team Dragons LP: 4400 SIMs LP: 7100

"I can't say it was not interesting, but." He summoned a Cybervalley (0/0). Next he activated Machine Duplication, to special summon two more Cyber Valleys (0/0) from his deck, since their attack was lower then 500. "It means nothing to us. Whats in the past should stay there. This city sank for a reason." He then activated the left Valleys second effect, removing it and his Proto-Cyber Dragon from play to draw two new cards. "And you are just repeating the same mistake....Overload Fusion!" He played the fusion spell, and removed several machines in his graveyard from play, including one Cyber Dragon, for fusion materials. He also removed Cyber Ouroboros. "When Ouroboros is removed, I can remove one card in my hand to draw one new card." He removed a Tyrant Dragon and gained Cybernetic Zone, he could use that later on. "Now I Fusion Summon Chimeratech Overdragon!" He had removed five machines, so it had five heads (4000/4000) "Wonderful...and is this supposed to intimidate me?" However, Thanatos raised its shield once again. "What?!" And swapped attackpoints with the reflected fusion dragon. The reaper knight merely growled as it grew stronger (4500/3500) and the Overdragon weaker (3500/4000). "How?"

"Didn't you know? When the Second Seal of Orichalcos is on the field, Thanatos can activate his power in your turn as well." He laughed. "Damn it." Scowling, he activated the middle Cyber Valleys third effect, removing it and a card in his hand from play, to place a card from his grave on top of his deck. Then he "Turn End." Then her turn came and she sighed. "Set card, end turn." Rose did even less, she had few cards to use. Simon was still amused and the unseen AI drew a new card, gaining 500 LP from Deuteros. "I think its time for..the third seal!" He shouted. A continuous spell was played. "Third??" Another green circle surrounded the playing field, joining the two others. "Orichalcos Tritos, last seal of Orichalcos." Thanatos looked at its prey. "Slaughter." And it swung its scythe around to conjure a energy blade. "Trap card!" But now at long last he could use his continuous trap, Cybernetic Hidden Technology. "If you attack a cyber dragon, or one of its fusion relatives, I can sacrifice it to kill your attacker."

SIMs LP: 7600

_Orichalcos Tritos, Continuous spell  
Activate only if 'The Seal of Orichalcos' and 'Orichalcos Deuteros' are face-up on your side of the field.  
You can negate the activations and effect(s) of spell, trap, and effect monster cards that target a monster on your side of the field, and destroy them._

He tried to remove Chimeratech from the field to destroy Thanatos, but nothing happened. "Huh?" The third seal glowed for an instant and broke his trap card. "Effects cant target my monsters, not with the final seal in place. Did I forget to say that?" The attack went through and the fiveheaded machine was blown to scraps. Then a trap card was set facedown, Thanatos returned to its regular stats (3500/3500) and SIM ended its turn. But the two duelists did not look frightened, they were still determined. "If even that fusion wont work. It is time.." He drew the card that Cyber Valley had placed on top of his deck. "Assist us, Timaeus." A card discarded accidentily due to Card Trooper, was now back in his hand. "Lets not waste time. 10 Minutes left." Immediately he summoned the blue dragon to the field, its arrival made everyone gasp...except for Creed. "I fuse Eye of Timaeus with my third and final CyberValley!" The two dragons combined, and formed a mechanical serpent dragon (2800/2600). "Valley End Dragon."

Team Dragons LP: 3400

_Valley End Dragon, 8/2800/2600 Machine/Dragon/Light/Fusion  
Eye of Timaeus + Cyber Valley  
Once per turn you can use 1 of the following 3 effects:  
- You can remove this card from play to place a card from your deck into your hand.  
- You can remove 1 face-up monster you control and draw 2 cards.  
- You can remove a face-up monster with the highest ATK_

"This card has the special ability to remove the strongest monster from play, so it does not target." He smirked and aimed for Thanatos. "Take this!" However before he could finish the sentence, a counter trap stopped his moves. "That is.." SIM flipped Curse of Martyrs, a counter which negated the effect of his dragon. "And also it forces the dragon to attack the enemy." Against his own will, Timaeus came straight towards the reaper. "No, I wont let you!" Carter cursed and played a quickplay spell card from his hand. "Cybernetic Zone! This will remove my machine from the field, taking away your traps target!" The dragon faded into another dimension, before it got close. "So much for Timaeus." Cadron snickered. "You forget that your machine returns to your field in the endphase, stronger too." Cyber Varied Dragon popped back into view, with double power even (5600/2600). "And then it dies for good." But before he could gloat, Christine activated a spell. "Dont laugh yet." She used Defusion from her hand, before she even drew a card.

_Curse of Martyrs, Counter Trap  
Select 1 monster on each side of the field. The two selected monsters battle. Any effects the monster on your opponent's side of the field may have are negated._

"We are still in this together."The spell split the dragonmech back into Timaeus and Valley (0/0) William did not expect this stroke of luck. "And I... have a dragon too." She drew at last, and it started to glow. "Oh, will you try and use Hermos on us next?" The villain chuckled. "No, not Hermos. Colins soul is still inside that abomination, so.." The glow was not red, it was blue. "Fang of Critias it will be..."

(To be continued in Testament 115: Final Destination: Third Time's the Charm)

**New Cards used by Christine**_  
Fang of Critias_

**New Cards used by William Carter**  
Machine Duplication  
Cybernetic Zone

**New Cards used by**_  
Orichalcos Thanatos_

_-  
Orichalcos Tritos_ (+)

-  
_Curse of Martyrs_ (+)

(+) Based on Dartz's deck, season 4, etc


	115. Testament 115: Third Sword's the Charm

Testament 115: Final Destination: Third Sword's the Charm

"Colin is close by. He would want us to free him. So I will use this card." Christine showed Simon the third dragon, Fang of Critias. "To stop you!" She flipped her facedown trap, so that it could fuse with the Dragon. "Facedown trap card: Snipers Backup, and Fang of Critias. Combine into one dragon!" The two cards combined in a flash of light, and out came a thick-scaled and gigantic dragon (2600/2800). "This is called the Sniping Shield Dragon." She summoned it in defense mode. "While this card is defending, it will allow all other warrior-types on the field to attack directly." She explained. "Oh? But you have no.."

Simon was about to sneer at her lack of warriors, when she flipped her facedown monster as well. "Dont assume so much." It was the female warrior: Queens Knight(1500/1600). "We are not as insignificant as you like to think." She then played Reinforcement of the army, adding and summoning Kings Knight (1600/1400) to the field. King and Queen of course activated their unique ability to special summon Jacks Knight (1900/1100) from her deck. "Three direct attackers." The knights raised their weapons, climbed on top of the shield dragon and jumped off of it. "So.. three direct attacks!" Their swords slashed against the screens, taking some of them down. A total of 5000 lifepoints were destroyed. "I end my turn." The soldiers came back to her field. "Tsk. The dragons have a lot of power." He had to admit. "Of course we could have used the effect of Orichalcos Deuteros to stop direct attacks." But then he would have to sacrifice a monster on his field. "And I will not give up Thanatos, not just yet." Another card was drawn

SIMs LP: 2400

_Sniping Shield Dragon, 8/2600/2800 Earth/Dragon  
Fang of Critias + Snipers Backup  
As long as this card is on your side of the field in face-up defense mode, all other warrior-type monsters on your side of the field can attack the opponent directly._

The Second Seal gave SIM 500 lifepoints. "Orichalcos has a method to stop even them. Meet the incarnation of the assassins magic negation technique: Orichalcus Dominus!" He summoned a wraithlike entity in the backrow, with a crowned helmet on its head (1500/1500) As soon as it appeared, three chains came from its sleeves. "This card will negate the effects of all non-Orichalcos monsters!" Claws at the end of the chains opened, they captured Cyber Valley, Kings Knight and Critias. "Gah." This put an end to their sniping offense. "Furthermore. When one of these monsters is killed by Dominus. It can take down another non-negated monster with it." He smirked as Carters Cyber Valley was crushed. The chain then snapped loose and trashed around, strangling Jacks Knight at the same time. Of course Thanatos attacked as well, he unleashed his scythe upon the weakest prey; Queens Knight. It grinded against the chains around her, pinning her down and decapitating the woman. "You can no longer use those dragons.."

_Orichalcus Dominus, 3/1000/1000 Dark/Fiend  
As long as this card remains on the field in face-up attack-mode, the activation of/and effects of all face-up effect monsters without 'Orichalcos' in their name on the field are negated.  
If this card destroys a face-up monster, whose effect has been negated by this card effect, destroy 1 face-up monster on the field whose effect is not negated._

SIMs LP: 2900 Team Dragons LP: 400

"Even so, Timaeus is not an actual monster right now." Timaus had been defused earlier from Cyber Valley. "We can still combine him with another.." William drew once more, hoping to get a monster. Only to realize that it was pointless. "Gah. Whatever I call out, it won't be able to use its effect." And they could not get rid of Dominus as long as Thanatos was in the front row. "_I did not draw a monster anyway_." He stared at his last card: Cyberdark Impact, and sighed. "Wait a second." He looked to his left, Christined still had two monsters, The King and Dragon Sniper. "What if.." He got an idea. "Rose..and Sairve, if you can hear me. I am going to try something." He used the special ability of The Eye of Timaeus. "I fuse the eye with...the fang!" The others gasped as light and dark blue merged into one source of radiance. "They can fuse with each other too?" Nero stammered. "Evidently." Jackson shielded his eyes. A converging of energy occured, both entities formed one colorless whole. And when the light disappeared, there was.. "Eh?"

_Imperfect Sword 1/?/? Light/Dragon/Fusion  
???? +????_

They saw one unfinished sword, lying on the floor helplessly. "What kind of a joke is this." Creed scoffed. "I do not know.." Carter stared at it with wide eyes. "I think it is a monster, but." However Rose was less confused. "Hold on. Its not complete right? Maybe we need a third piece." They immediately got what she was referring too. "Hermos? But you dont have that card. And what are the odds of you drawing it in the next turn? Especially after you shuffled your deck!" The villain laughed. "Maybe that is why.." She drew anyway, and to his dismay, a red spark came from the disk. "It can't be!" She received her own blade, the Claw of Hermos. "Its time to finish the weapon. I integrate you Hermos, with the Imperfect Sword!" Once again a flash filled the room, this time red and white merged into one bright golden color. "Here it is, the original blade of Atlantis: Gladius Logos!" And the first thing the golden sword did upon its creation, was to release a wave of mana across the floor. "The seals!" It broke the original circle of Orichalcos.

_Gladius Logos, Equip Spell/Fusion  
Claw of Hermos + Fang of Critias + Eye of Timaeus  
If 'Seal of Orichalcos', 'Orichalcos Deuteros' and/or 'Orichalcos Tritos' are face-up on the field when this card is activated, you can send them to the graveyard, regardless of their own effects.  
When the equipped monster attacks an opponents monster, its original attack becomes double that of the targeted monster card._

It broke Orichalcos Deuteros and Tritos at the same time. "How did you do that!" With the seals gone, Thanatos (3000/3000) and Dominus (1000/1000) powered down. "Can't you guess? Even I have an idea. We merged the three dragons, born from a warriors Ka, to their powers original medium. In this form they can withstand and destroy their corrupted source of power. Dominus does not affect it, since it is an equipment spell. Every Hermos fusion turns into an equipment spell." The last monster standing, Kings Knight, claimed the Gladius. "The monster that attacks with this sword will gain double the attack of its target." It swung the weapon around, absorbing power from Thanatos (6000/1400). "And you can not exchange attackpoints anymore, Sim and Simon. The seal is gone now, the effect wont work during my turn. Its time to accept defeat." The King charged forth. "This is for Colin, Cleo, Ned, Venice, Andre, Ananka and every other soul you have harmed. This is for them!!" Simon could only stare in despair as the Logos sword cut through the armor of the reaper. It tried to block with its scythe, but it was plowed through instantly. Thanatos was killed and his death reduced SIMs lifepoints to zero at last. "Your last servant is gone!"

SIMs LP: 0

One monitor after the after started to blow up, the system flowed over with numbers that it could no computer. "Sim! Father!!" Creed did not seem any more capable of handling the defeat that had been given to the AI. "No, no, no! Its shutting down, not now!" He turned around, looking at someone that they could not see. "Cadron. Help me, you can fix this cant you?" He yelled with panic in his voice. "Sorry, but my speciality lies elsewhere." He snickered calmly. "Cadron? Since when has he been there?" The others looked up, they did not know until now that he had been in Simons room all this time. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" The final fuse was blown, and half of the power was taken out. Only some lights remained active. A loud rumbling caame from upstairs. "What is that?" They wondered. "I think...that the water is sinking again. Whatever powered that wall that pushed aside the water, its off now." And this was exactly the case, which caused great alarm among the naval troops on the surface. The city was submerged under the water, but at the very least the barrier that protected it was gone. "I can't control the satellites now." Simon rambled on and on. "The plan is doomed Cadron, what do we do?"

The scientist was still quite casual about their loss. "I assume you don't want to go out and duel them yourselves. No, I guess not. Besides there is an entire army out there." He smiled in a way that disturbed his master. "Cadron, what are you.." He was cut off. "Remember.." Cadron began. "Remember when I said that you had the DNA of Atlantians, and that it would allow you to control the forces buried underneath the main seal?" Creed nodded slowly. "Well. I half-lied." Very suddenly, he pulled a card from his pocket and threw it underneath his target. "What are you doing?" He screamed. "One more soul will be enough, a soul of an ancestor." The Seal of Orichalcos drained his soul instantly. "Aaaaargh, you.. you..traitor...gaaaah!" The former ruler of Tumaga collapsed to the floor. "Not like..Simone, not like.." This left only one Kartel member, who grinned at the children in the hall. "You killed him! Why?" Rose asked. "He planned this." Nero asserted quickly. Cadron merely bowed. "You are correct."

He could not help but cackle. "I intended to dispose of him ever since he hired me. His failure sealed the deal. I know the secrets of Atlantis better than him." More tremors shook the area, and the crystal above began to glow brighter then ever. "His soul is in there now!" Doe rasped. "Indeed. Sim, Simone and Simon, all Creeds are together again. Now I can begin the ritual." He started pressing some buttons. "Ritual? I thought you needed the..Pharaohs soul?" They were interrupted when a crack formed above them, a crack in the Orichalcum. "He was naive, so were you. I studied the process well and found out that a younger stage of Zetto's form can be made with the amount we already have right now. All we needed." More cracks formed. "Was Atlantian influence." Fragments fell to the ground. "Now, we will see the true form of Zetto, and the name of the god of Orichalcos!" A burst followed, which scattered shards all over the place. At the same time, the massive energy solidified, shooting outwards in every direction.

"Look out!" They narrowly avoided several stray bolts that came from the main source. "We need to stop this!" Nero yelled. "Can't we attack it as its taking form?" He asked Jackson, who seemed to be the expert in thse kinds of things. "Its doubtful." Jacobus shook his head. Nero still wanted to try and was about so summon a monster "He is right, it wont work. You will have to wait for it to become corporeal, mehehee." Cadron still gloated from behind the glass window. "And that won't take long. I think it wants to come out now." He cackled madly as another sonic boom hit the room. The blow knocked everyone down, and they had to shield their eyes due to the intensity of the final few flashes. When they looked again they stared right into the demon god, framed against the shattered Orichalcum stone in the background. It looked very familiar. One eye, surrounded by thousands of spikes and two scythe-like arms. "That is." It was the first monster that SIM had played: Orichalcos Kyutora. "That thing?"

Except this one was far larger then the one thay had been dueling. Its one eye alone was as big as they were. "All that hype for a random monster?" Doe was not impressed. "It is not just a random monster. You will see that soon enough." The scientist chuckled. Its appearance did not impress much, however they could not ignore its overwhelming aura. "This thing is bad. I can feel it." William took a step back, as did Rose. "It looks..in pain. Is this where all the souls have gone towards?" She shivered. They all looked at Jackson, who nodded. "Then we only have to kill it to free everyone!" Nero said confidently. "Polymerization, I fuse Avian and Burst Lady to fusion summon Flame Wingman!" The flaming E-hero came to the field. "Fire Punch!" And released a power blast straight at the demon. He was certain that it would hit, since it now had a fixed form. "Wait Nero, that thing has an effect!" Carter shouted. He feared that the abilities of the card would cross over to its real-life state. "What?" And his fears were realized.

The eyelids shifted open, and the great eye bathed in the flames, absorbing it all. "No way." The heat went straight inside the monster, and it relaxed its eye once again. Then a chain reaction went on inside its body, and it started to throb...and grow. "Thats new." It went from barely larger then a tall human, to twice the size of a human being. It began to overshadow the duelists and their cards. Then one of its scythe-hands rose up, and with the greatest of ease it cleaved right through the Wingman. "So now it just absorbs the energy straight away." Christine moaned. "It feeds on our mana to get bigger and bigger?" Everyone took a step back. "No." Cadron interjected at this point. "Its already growing on its own, constantly evolving. It has not yet reached its ultimate godlike form, which is why its so 'weak-looking.' What you are looking at is Kyutora Shenorus, one of the imperfect stages of the dark ones from the oceans. It harvests souls, much like the Orichalcos seal does. It is the Dark Ones that gave Atlantis the power of The Seal.."

He looked at the duelists. "Hmm. Ever since you visited the Memory world, you learned to use Ka to summon real monsters haven't you? Their contribution accelerated its growth for a little while, since your card is an extension of your spirit. So go ahead, keep attacking it with portions of your own soul, you will only dig a deeper grave, eheheh." Yet Carter was smirking. ""Well then, if it absorbs energy through the eye. We will just have to attack the other parts of the body!" He summoned a card from his angel deck, The Splendid Venus showed up in the area above Kyutora. "Pierce its skin, Venus!" The angel descended upon its prey with her double-edged sword. "Take this!" Yet as she slammed her sword into the creature, it shattered into smaller pieces. "What?" It appeared that its spiked hide was sharper then any conventional weapon. Then as a quick retaliation, it moved several spikes towards the fairy and impaled her armor with them. "Gah, both offense and defense cant stand against those needles." They were running out of ideas.

"Heheh. You can not stop this. Now then, please die children, so that my creation may visit the surface of this condemned world." Cadron laughed maniacally.

(To be continued in Testament 116: Blind Spot)

**New Cards used by Christine Rose**  
Reinforcement of the Army

**New Cards used by S.I.M.**_  
Orichalcus Dominus_


	116. Testament 116: Blind Spot

Testament 116: Blind Spot

A tremendous foce hit the surface of the ocean, the marines on top of the sea surface could feel it. "First the city disappears again, and now this. What are those people doing down there?!?" The commander of the fleet grunted. "And how far along are the bombers? We need to be reasy for operation hammer down." He growled at his nearest subordinate. "We still need the comfirmation from the government, sir. After that, they can be here in less then an hour." He replied hastily. "I see. Then I hope to god that those children get out of there quickly. I have no clue what is rumbling down there, and I dont need to see it."

And the source was the demon Kyutora, who had been released by the mad scientist Cadron. None of their attacks could dent its skin, and energy was absorbed into its eye. "Wait, not all of its body is covered." She got an idea. "Diane!" Rose summoned the healer of the Baxters to her side. "And if my hunch is correct, it can absorb magical strikes, but not physical ones..." The archer grabbed her bow, placed an arrow on it, and fired it straight at the demons open eye. "If we can take that eye down, we can overpower it with magic!" Alas, even against that the monster had a defense. It simply closed its lids fully, and the arrow bounced off the darkgreen surface. "Shoot, even the eye-lids are as thick as metal." She grumbled. "Jackson, what do we do, one of those symbols inside your head must have an idea!?" They asked him.

"This is difficult. Its own body is almost impenetrable, and we can't get close to it without getting skewered by the spikes on its outer shell." He had many personalities in that head of his, and not one could think off a plan to beat the monster. "We need more help, we can not surround him like.." Just then, another sickle-shaped claw emerged from the beasts body. "William look out!" It was closest to Will, and he saw it coming too late. "Duck!" He looked behind instead, the scythe came for him. "Carter!!" And right before it hit him, a fifth assailant joined the scene. From the ceiling, a beam came, which blew off Kyutora's sickle. "What...what happened?" The duelist lied on the floor, bewildered and bemused. "Thats what I would like to know." Cadron snarled, as she scanned the area. Some was above them. "Well, it looks like there is someone who can break through the skin." Another blast came from above, this time however, it was intercepted. Kyutora opened its eye once more, and made it in time. "Its you!"

Then the attacker revealed himself, stepping on the cold floor after jumping down from the hole. It was a human, one they had not seen for a while. "Anima!" A former friend of theirs stood in between the four heroes and the villains. The Orichalcos fiend was too confused to move for the moment. "What....how..when.." They were of course very surprised. "Wait..you were the one, that took care of the cyborgs outside?" Nero recalled the moment where a mysterious attacker saved them, and allowed them to enter Atlantis. He gave a weak nod. "I did not want to show my face to you again, not after what I had almost done. But I also can not let you all die here." He refused to look at them, even now. He nearly destroyed their souls just to keep the world a safer place. "Cable must have told you." He sighed. They did not know what to say. The ones that surely would have snapped at him, Cleo and Colin, were comatose right now. "I have no excuses, I do not even understand myself right now. And I dont think you should come close to me." His hands trembled.

At that time, Kyutora started moving again, trashing around wildly. "You need to leave now." He said suddenly. "Wha..oh?" They finally realized that the floor was getting moist. "Atlantis is sinking, that is the cost of raising the dark one. I can handle this, I can hurt it, so go!" He yelled." They hesitated. "But... The ocean has already closed around this place. We can't fly out of here with the dragons!" Christine said. And without warning, Anima blew a new hole in the left side of the dome. "There is a submarine just a few corridors beyond that gateway, it has an auto-submerge function. You can get there in time, just do not surface too quickly." He said all this without flinching or even giving them a glance. "Anima, you have to come with us then." Nero begged. "No. This monster should not reach the open air, it wont be stopped if it finds new souls to drain. Leave this to me, I know I will make it." He lied, but they had no choice, they had to leave or everyone would drown. "_This is becoming a bad habit, abandoning 'comrades'."_

"So... you are _the_ Anima." Anima stared right at Cadron, as the children in the background vacated the aslowly flooding area. "That is my submarine they are headed for now. There is only room for four people at beast, you sacrificed yourself to let them escape?" Cadron only laughed as he watched this charming scene. "I can ask you the same thing. You don't seem to be that frightened for a man who realizes his only escape from this sinking city is now taken." Anima clenched his fist. "But make no mistake. I do not intend to drown here, nor do I plan to fall to your creation." He looked back at the spiked demon, whose eye was only looking at one man now. "Ah yes your infamous magic shadowing technique. If I had more time I would have loved to study you. I never knew the death of an entire hospital wing could give the survivor such powers." The scientist still grinned. "Yet you boast, knowing the capabilities of Shenorus. What can you do to an eye that drains all, and an exoskeleton that blocks all."

"Show me Anima, show me what you can do against that!" He just sighed and placed his hand on his pocket. "We...will show you." He drew a card and summoned it, it was one of his Kingdom Hearts-related cards, Organization XIII member Xaldin. He took on a solid form, though his face was lifeless and inhuman looking, "Oh? You can create monsters from your own Ka as well? Interesting." Especially since all Organization XIII members werent even true duel monsters to begin with. "These warriors aren't as pure as the other monsters, they are merely hollow shells given life by my mana. I can only use this ability for so long." He then nodded at his cards incarnation, whose specialty lied in spears. He who hurled several of them of his into the air, hoping to impale his eye or other parts of the body.

Unfortunately, Kyutora maneuvered his body in a way that brought his eye out of the path of the attacks. Its needles broke along with the spears, but those were only a few of a hundred that covered its skin. "So a singular amount of brute force is not enough to get through its hide" Just then two more scythe-claws emerged from its body, replacing the one that had been cut off earlier. "!!!" He jumped out of the way, but Xaldins form was not so fortunate, and he was sliced into pieces by all four sickles. "You are already disappointing me, Anima." He needed a new approach, and he had to think one up fast, since the beast got closer and closer. "Demyx!" He had one plan, but it required a lot of energy, and patience. "Water clones!" He summoned the water-elemental of the Organization.

He used his special power to create three dopplegangers, draining away all the water on the floor to give them a form. "Three-pronged attack!" They came from multiple angles, brandishing their weapons in an attempt to cut through to the core. "Useless." However it raised its claws once again and mowed them all down as they jumped down on it. "Just as planned." Anima smirked as their bodies reverted to water once again, splashing down on the spiked demon. "Larxene!" Next he summoned the lightning-elemental girl. "Hmm?!" She fired her thunder spells. 'Its body is wet all over now, making it an excellent lightning rod!" The electricity spread all over its body, paralysing it. "Nice try." Cadron however pointed out a flaw. "It can still absorb it hmm." Even if it spread all over its body, it was still drawn into the eye. "But, you can't move it around anymore. Nor can it close its eye anymore." He summoned another elemental, Axel, the Flurry of the Blades. "Fire at him!" The redhead joined the blonde member in her assault on Kyutora.

He bombarded its eye with flames. "This way, it has to keep absorbing the energy. And the lightning keeps it in place, so it can not move to destroy the Organization elementals." Demyx then made his move. "Leaving it open for an attack from behind. I figured it out Cadron, your creation has a blind spot." The Melodios Nocturne dashed to the left, trying to circle around its target. "You forget one thing, Anima. You are feeding the beast right now, so it can grow even further." It trembled and suddenly all of its spikes shot outward. "Its converting the energy into needle mass?" They went in every direction except the front area where the eye was. They pierced walls, tiles and naturally Demyx as well. His form shattered as he was pinned against the walls. "You wont be able to reach the blind spot. Eheheh" The maze of needles blocked his path and his exit, there was no way to get under or over it either. "..." Anima however looked at two things. His own shadow on the floor, and the shadow of Kyutora that was cast against the wall.

Both were enhanced by the bright flames of Axel. "Can't I?" He let himself fall backwards, and shocked Cadron when he disappeared completely. "Where?" The next thing he knew, Anima just below him. He came out of the demons shadow. "What is this ability, is this a second power?" This was Anima's only unique ability, the same thing he used to escape Marcus's bombs back at the tournament. He could merge with shadows, and walk through them to reach other destinations. "Then he truly is only a shadow, from the..." Now that he had cornered the enemy, he was ready to unleash all his mana on it. "It ends!" He charged it within his hands, threw them back until they started to spark, and then released the power gathered between his fingers. Kyutora wanted to turn around to absorb the more dangerous blast, but since its body had punctured the area, it was forced to remain in the same position. "You dont.." Almost frantically, Cadron pushed all the buttons he could. A big explosion followed, more water entered the dome.

"Ahahaha." The Kartel members mad laughter echoed across the ruined core room. "What?" The smoke cleared, and to his dismay, Kyutora came out completely unscathed. "Thats not possible!" There was something else, a thick wall of green light. "But thats." And the star of Orichalcos shimmered within the eye of the dark one. "The Seal of Orichalcos, eheheh. You wasted your shot.. it now has the powers of all three seals integrated into itself." What Anima had hit was the attack negating shield of Orichalcos Deuteros, the second of three seals. "I have now covered every weakness, it is unbeatable." He raved on and on. Not noticing that the area in front of his window was nearly flooded. Axel and Larxene disappeared along with their summoners mana, he no longer had the energy to move. "I failed" He did not struggle, and sank to the bottom. The last thing he saw was an image of his own shadow, looking right back at him. Another growth spurt hit the demon, sending it crashing through the roof. Cadron refused to change his expression, even as the window in front of him was cracking under the pressure of the ocean, and cracks began to form. "Let us reach godhood, let us abandon the flesh..."

Finally the submarine saw the light of day, allthough the sun had already set by the time they emerged. Anima had been correct in stating that the sub had an auto-pilot that allowed for them to reach the surface. "We're not going to get the bends are we?" One of Jacksons symbols complained. "I think we should be lucky that the navy did not shoot us out of the sea already." William looked around and saw the many ships. They were still close to the island and tower 0013. "They must have given us the benefit of the doubt, or maybe they dont have torpedoes with them..." A long silence followed. Aleadry a few lifeboats headed their way, since they did not seem to be able to move the ship any further. "I just hope that Anima made it out in one piece. Even if he did go a bit mad at that time." Christine stared out into the open sea, it was so very calm and peaceful. There no longer were any signs that once a city had been here. "I just want this all to be over with." Nero said. And just then chaos erupted. "Ah!"

Green light shone through the water. Waves formed, rocking every boat in the vicinity. Sharp winds arose, cutting into the troops. Something horrible was ascending, slithering its way up to the world. "Is it Anima?" Was an question of desperation, nobody believed that this terrible feeling belonged to him. Even after all that he tried to do back at the musei,. "We... have to warn the... captain, we have to move away from here!" It was too late, the sea exploded, they were thrown off their sub. "NO!" It was here, Orichalcos Kyutora. It had doubled in size once again, and its spikes had experienced an even sharper growth. Its great eye stared at every last one of the ships and every last one of the soldiers. "What in the name of God is that?" They exclaimed, their faces etched in fear. And it began to move, towards the island.

(To be Continued in Testament 117: The Oceans Tremble)


	117. Testament 117: The Oceans Tremble

Testament 117: The Ocean Trembles

"FIRE!" The commander shouted the same order he had given several hours ago, and this time there was a clear and ominous target to shoot at. A floating one-eyed demon certainly looked like a threat to all of them. Every vessel unloaded its turrets on the spiked abomination. It basked in a blaze of machine fire and detonated shells. The duelists tried to get away from the battlescene as fast as possible, lifeboats had come to take them to safety, which was nice since their escape pod was no longer moving. The trip back to the island took a minute or two, yet the noise in the background did not diminish, nor did the demon yield. "How much ammo do these people have?" Nero covered his ears. "Plenty. But if this will not work, then we have to rely on the bombing procedure." One or the soldiers on the boat said. "Bombing? But then what will happen to the souls inside?" Christine gasped. Everyone stared at her, they that did not get what she was yelling about of course. "By the way we do have some good news."

That appeared to be a certain friend that was waiting for them at the edge of the island. "Colin!" The seer stood there, his soul had clearly returned. "How is this possible?" They asked. They would have sounded more relieved if the monster had not been rampaging in the background. "Don't look at me, one minute I was with you guys, or against you..wearing armor for some reason. And then I was resting on a comfortable bed. Would have fallen asleep too, if not for the loud waves." He moaned. "What about Cleo then? Or the others, is anybody awake yet?" They hoped for more good news, but they would not get that. "Sorry. Only I woke up" Cleo still lied in her bed, comatose. "I dont get it. It was weird really." He shook his head, his brain felt foggy. "I think I get it. Only Sairve was returned to us, because we pulled him out of SIMs field when we summoned Critias. Ms. Caine returned to the great crystal, because she did not have a legendary dragon that needed her. She must still..be inside." Jackson pointed at the one-eyed entity.

"Oh yeah... what the hell IS that thing?" Colin finally asked.

The cannons ceased firing, three minutes of deafening warfare were followed by an extremely uncomfortable silence. "Status report soldier!" The captain asked one of his underlings again. "No discernible damage, sir." Was his saddening report. "What, how?? We hit dead on every time!!!" He growled. "We do not know sir. It is as if there is a perimeter around the target, it interferes with our equipment and weaponry. A strange kind of static surrounds it." He flinched, and clenched his teeth. "Wait, we are picking up another signal. I think its building up energy." The bars went off the charts. "Building up...for what?" They would soon find out, unfortunately. The demon closed its eye, retracted its claws, and started pulsating. It really did look like an oversized sea-urchin now, and then it struck. Dozens of the needles spread out, flying into the sky and water. "My word." Several pierced the decks of the ships, and one bridge was skewered. "Gah!" One needle even made it all the way to land, blowing sand all over the encampment.

The damage was severe, but not catastrophic, yet. Only two ships had taken too much hits to stay afloat, and the personell had to abandon the vessels. Four more ships had needles stuck on their decks, twice the size of a normal man. "Ggh, bloody.." The commander coughed. "Call all ships, call them back to the island. We will make our stand there for now." Kyutora began to move again, at the same time the remaining ships pulled back. "That things is nasty. And you are telling me its not even done transforming?" Colin shivered. "No, as it is right now, its still growing. It's still holding back until it can reach its new state, thats why it is not doing much yet. Its saving energy, that was just a warning shot." Jackson grunted. "If that was a warning shot, I dont want to see it cut loose for real." William looked at it again. "I think its coming over here too, but it sure is taking its time." Then Nero stepped up. "I wont stand by and watch." He pulled a card from his dueldisk. "We will engage that thing again, we have to."

"Then we will need flying monsters." Carter smirked. "If it absorbs energy through the eye, we will simply surround it and attack it from all angles. It can't focus on each monster at once." He summoned an angel-type: Tethys, the light Goddess. "Right." Nero, Jackson and Colin summoned the winged Darkbrightman, the dragon Seth and the floating demon Greed Quasar. Christine had to sit this one out, since none of her warrior-types could fly. "Go!" The soldiers could not help to stare in disbelief as they saw four cards come to life, fly out over the sea and circle around the one-eyed freak. Even though they had seen plenty of monsters by now, it was always going to be hard to adjust too. "And now, attack!" They fired their energy simultaneously: twilight lightning, holy mana, cosmic matter and dark energy, it came from all four corners. But Kyutora Shenorus did not move from its spot. "What?" It did not even bother to open its eye. "Its accepting..no." And then at the last second, it reactivated the same shield that it had used against Anima.

The barrier of the second seal: Orichalcos Deuteros blocked all four blasts. "Gah, thats cheating!" Colin rasped. "It's that power!" And once the shield dropped, the demon lashed out. Four sickles came from its body, one for each assailant. They cleanly cut through the monsters, and they splattered against the ocean floor. "That did not go well, what happened?" Doe did not answer immediately. Instead he yanked a card from his deck, a trap card: Mind Infection. "Let us try this." Five of the symbols in his mind gave their energy to activate the traps powers. "If we can not hit his body, maybe his spirit can be.." The malicious energy tried to enter the mind of the one-eyed monster. However before it could get near, the symbol of Orichalcos's third seal glowed inside its iris. "Tsk." The energy was vaporized before it could close. Even worse, the pain shot back and shocked the card right out of his hand. "As I feared. I dont know when or how, but that things has all three seals under its wing. Deuteros to deflect any direct attacks, and Tritos to negate any curse or spell that targets it." He picked the card up again. "Then how can we hurt it, much less beat it?" Rose panicked. It got closer and closer. "That shield must have a weakness."

"You there!" One soldier suddenly ran up to them. "Just now another message came in. Someone sent a transmission straight to the commanding officers, and he wanted you to know as well." They all blinked. "What, who sent it?" The man paused to take in some air, and said the name. "Cable Fraser." Jacksons eyes widened. "He called to say that all ships had to clear away from the target, for at least a mile-wide radius." He explained. They were too stunned to pose a question. Well except for some Doe Personae. "What did he say, where is he?" He asked with a different tone for each sentence. "Ehr, he didnt say what he was planning to do. Just that he had finally decrypted some data and accesses the remote systems of Outerdeck." Thats when they remembered. "We left Fraser to duel with Marcus, and he won that duel." But Marcus had supposedly deleted all the files on his hard drive. "Well he better have planned something real good. Does he even know what we are dealing with?" Colin grunted.

"I trust him. Lets wait and see." Jackson looked to the horizon and smiled. But Cable's surprise was one that would come as a shock no matter how prepared you were for it. Kyutora was still closing in on tower 0013, when the sky began to rumble. _"Target locked." _This happened about the same time that Cable sat down behind a dozen or so computers, all hardwired into the system, and tapped a button. _"Lets do this." _Ever since SIM stopped monitoring Tumaga's network, it became a lot easier to gain access to certain machines of theirs. "What the hell?" Clouds were torn to pieces, all color was drenched in a pale green glow. "The satellite!" A beam descended from the sky, and it slammed against the demons shield. The clash sent even more waves across the ocean, the navy had it rough. "He has.." Fraser had converted the soulsucking equipment of the satellite hovering above 0013. He had turned it into a laser cannon, which used Orichalcum to produce a pure beam of mana. "Incredible!"

The influx put more pressure on Deuteros than it could handle. "Thats it! Atlantian magic against Atlantian magic. That is its weakness!" Most of the energy was deflected sideways and caused massive stormwinds and waves. But there was a change. "Look!" The top of the shield began to crack physically, splinters were blasted loose. "Yes! Deuteros can not withstand the beam since its made from the same energy type. It is weakening!" Jackson cheered. However Kyutora also had a plan, it moved its eye upwards. "Oh no!" And then it disengaged the barrier, letting the satellite laser shoot straight into its absorbing eye. "No, stop the beam!" The duelists yelled. The soldiers overheard this and tried to relay the message to Cable back at the outerdeck building. "What?" Moments before he received the call, the charts gave off very odd readings. "The energy is disappearing? No..its being converted?" He quickly shut down the beam, turning the sea into a calmer place. The one-eyed monster lowered its eye again, and grew another feet in size.

"Damn it. It wont allow us to break that wall." Nero cursed. "What do we do now?" Just then one of the soldiers came towards them. "He requested to talk with you." He handed over a communicator to Doe. "Cable?" he took it quickly and responded. "Yeah its me. I will keep my tale short, since we are pressed for time. But I managed to hack into the sky network and repurpose the five satellites. Right now however I can only use one of them, the others still need to be moved into position." He sighed as he looked at the scene from an aerial view. "I dont think we have time for that. Its moving again." There was no doubt about it, the demon headed for tower 0013. "The laser is the one thing that can break the shield. We just need to keep it's eye closed and the shield up." Fraser explained and watched the charge. "I can fire again in 1 minute. I hope you have a plan." But then Carter took over the communicator. "I have one! Listen to this." He whispered his scheme and then turned back to the soldier.

"Tell the commander to fire at the eye with eveyrthing they got, we need to keep that thing closed." He nodded and did just that. "I dont know what he is scheming, but we have no alternatives until the bombers get here." The captain grunted as he received the order. "FIRE!" The remaining ships started their assault once more, aiming straight for the eye. Kyutora of course closed the lids and allowed its rock-hard skin to take the blows. "Now!" But then from the island itself, a triple strike was launched. Christine, Nero and William summoned more duel monsters. John Baker, E-Hero Neos and Cyber Dragon fired three beams of energy, which merged into one giant beam. With its eye closed, it could not absorb that beam. But it could still feel the incoming danger, and erected Deuteros once more. "So far so good."

The barrier arose and pushed back the delta-beam. "This is our only shot though." The only thing that Will had not expected was that the cracks had faded already, menaing that Deuteros repaired itself in between its active periods. "Damn... Cable! It can't drop its shield now, so fire!" And then the satellite released another shot, which ripped through the clouds with the same force from before. Now the Orichalcos fiend was attacked from three sides, and neither one let up. "This has to work." Christine hoped. There was a crack again, the shield broke slowly. They started feeling a bit of relief. "Wait.." However, it was then that it fired one of its needles, straight at the island. "It can fire through the field!?" It was upon them in an instant, and skewered two of their monsters. Of course this also put an end to their triple offensive. The beam stopped hitting the shield, leaving the satellite as the only attacker. "No, now it can drop its shield again!" William rasped. And the timing could not be more inconvenient, the satellite had cracked a hole inside Deuteros.

And now the eye opened and moved to drain the descending energy. "No!" Cable was narrowly on time to cancel the attack, giving Kyutora nothing to devour. "Damn it, we failed!" The commander wanted to say. But then he would have spoken to soon, for there was still one more phase to this round. "Christine?!" In the very same second that the beam had stopped, and the demon had put its eye towards the sky, a warrior jumped in the way of its sights of the clouds. "Gotcha!" It was John Baker, and in his hand was the sword of the three fused dragons: Gladius Logos. Gladius Logos. In the background, while everyone else looked out to the sea, Colin made it so that Critias, Hermos and Timaeus could re-enact their fusion. Their sword forms combined into one weapon, just like in the duel against SIM. This worked and Gladius was given to the monster that survived the needles: John Baker. He jumped forth as quick as he could, taking advantage of the hole that Cable had made for her. "Take it, take it and disappear!"

(To be Continued in Testament 118: Ambidextrous)


	118. Testament 118: Ambidextrous

Testament 118: Ambidextrous

Johns new sword plunged into the open eye of the demon Kyutora, one second before it could have closed its eye. It got caught in between both eyelids, yet the warrior could still push the blade downwards. An inhuman shriek followed, as green fluid came oozed from the wound. John could barely get away in time as its target started to trash around in agony. "We hit it!" It tumbled back into the sea with a great splash, but the water was not deep enough for it to sink completely. Baker came back to the duelists on the island, who watched their enemy collapse into a motionless state. Green blood came from its shut eye. "Good shot Christine. If its still alive, I doubt it will be absorbing any more energy." Nero smiled. "Hey it was my idea." Colin sulked. And then everyone held their breath, the monster had not moved yet. They were actually beginning to believe. "Is it dead?" They were begining to believe they had stopped a demon. "No, dont say that you will jinx it!" Colin was the only one savvy enough to fear the exact opposite.

Too late to take it back, not that it would have made a difference. It moved still. "Aw crap.." Its body was twitching, some of the needles broke off. And then it started to glow, the same sickening green light of The Seal. "What is it doing now?" The entire ocean gained the ominous hue of Orichalcum, a whirlpool formed around it. "It's...the mineral. Its gotten in contact with the Orichalcum somehow!" As he said this, streams of green matter coursed through the ground below them, like veins in the sand. "Then it is digging into the deposits of Tum'aga, that must be why it wanted to go here. Damn it, we can not let that happen, we have to fire again!" Will yelled into his communicator. "I know that, but I need to recharge the satellite again, I need a minute!" Cable Fraser yelled back. "What is it doing?" Nobody knew what they were looking at, it was like the demon had turned itself into pure light, light that started to expand. "This must be what Cadron meant. Its constantly evolving, and now Kyutora has reached a new form; Shenorus."

A solid shape was formed from the Atlantian crystals, a thick layer of Orichalcum armor. More details were added: legs, arms, torso, even a head. In the end they stared at a whole new foe; a doll-like titan, which was almost as tall as the tower behind them. It hovered above the raging waters, and stared at the horizon. "It looks like." One of Jacksons voices shuddered. "Me." It was Arahabaki that spoke. This new stage looked a lot like the claydoll Persona. "This feels wrong. I think this is just a shell to hide its weakened form. The one-eye is still inside there, waiting to reach its perfect form." He shivered. "Great, we did all that work for nothing?" Colin fumed.. "We don't know that, the eye is destroyed, and maybe it cant activate the field spells in this state." Then another change occured, the two limbs disconnected. The left and right arm floated next to each other independent of their main body. "That can't be good either." One soldier remarked. The navy was too freaked out to engage the new enemy, and they were low on ammo.

Rose looked at it from top to bottom. "This one looks actually less scary. Why did it transform into this?" Just then Cable called through. "I am done!" He said excitedly. "Good, then fire! Quickly before it drags us into the danger zone!" William screamed. "Guys." However it stopped moving. "It's doing something." A small circle of mana formed beneath its legs, and it spread out across the body of Shenorus, growing in size. "It's attacking. But what?" And then the halo of energy was forced upwards, it blasted into the sky. "Dont tell me." It went beyond clouds, beyond air, it came into space and did not stop. And then a big explosion followed, one that everyone in england could see. "It took it out!" Fraser gasped as he lost all signals from his station. "The satellite is gone?! You have got to be...it can shoot that far??" It could, and it had done so. "There goes out greatest weapon." He panicked. No we still have one great weapon here!" The girl looked at her spirit warrior, who grabbed on to Gladius once again. "This is our last chance."

"We have to take out that armor now.. Attack it, John Baker!" The warrior took to the air, along with Gladius. "No, Christine don't do it! We dont know what its abilities are!" William shouted. "We wont find out unless we do something!" She yelled back and Baker came within range. He aimed the blade for the head-area, specifically the pattern branded between its eyes. The Seal of Orichalcos seemed like the perfect spot to hit/ "Strike!" The triple dragon sword slammed down, but stopped at the last second. "What?" An invisible force struggled against the sword, as if it was magnetically polarized. "Something is wrong." And as Baker struggled to escape this gravitational pull, one of the seperated arms started to move. It opened its thread-like fingers and charged energy within. "Look out! .... _Wait why am I telling to a card_?" Colins warning was not heard in time, and the blast hit John from the side. "Oh no!" He was destroyed instantly, his body blown to ashes. Only the sword remained, which tumbled down and cut deep into the ground of the island.

"Well that did not work. But why couldn't he touch the thing?" Just then Jackson flinched and grabbed the communicator. "Hold on Fraser." He switched lines from Outerdeck to the main army ship. "Sir, how much missiles do you have left?" He asked the commander on the other end. "Soldier?" He transferred the question to one of his underlings. "Battle Cruisers D80, F82 and F230 still have a complement of 12 rockets left sir." Doe also heard this news. "Good. I want each ship to fire a third of what they got. I have to test something, so follow me on this, sir." The captain of course was already planning on firing everything they had at this abomination, so he agreed. The command was carried out across what was left of the navy, and each ship aimed for the center body. "Fire!" They said loudly for what would probably be the last time. 12 missiles cruised towards the enemy, and it made no motions to avoid or dodge the attacks. "_It's to slow to escape? In any case we will now see if it still has a shield or not_."

They came closer and closer, the sound was earsplitting. "Huh?" And then just as suddenly, they all strayed off heir intended path. "Confounded technology!" Instead of the head and torso, every rocket charged at the left arm. "How did they malfunction,, those types are guided!" The soldiers gasped. "Its not the missiles themselves, sir. Something is interfering with our systems, sir!" The duelists realized that this was the same effect that had stopped John Baker. "That arm." It took the hits from the cruisers complements, and did not take any lasting damage. "It's regenerating?" They saw how the shining green armor fixed its cracks and holes in a second. "Now I understand. Kyutora separated into three parts to ensure its survival until the final evolution, now that the eye is gone it had to change this drastically. Though each piece is made from pure mana and Orichalcum, only the center is hollow." Jackson Arahabaki Doe explained. "The arms are mere decoys, the left one draws all other attacks away from the right arm and main body."

"They have a name." He suddenly said. "The left arm is Aristeros, the right arm is Dexia." Nero was surprised by this news. "How do you know all this?" Jackson shook his head. "I think its because of my connection to the Orichalcum. Or maybe the dragons are whispering it to me." In either case, that left one mystery. "Then what does the right arm do?" They were affraid to ask, and he would soon find out. "If it killed John Baker instantly..then its attackpower must be..." The other part: Orichalcos Dexia moved on its own, into the British fleet. "!!!" The right arm charged and released its unholy energy. "Holy.." One cruiser after another was blown up by the blasts, all ships that had fired missiles at it were ripped into two or more pieces. "The right arm..kills anything that dares to aim at the body." And it did not stop there. Panicked soldiers started firing at Dexia, only to have their bullets fly far way from the target. "Don't fire you fools, run!" And naturally, the ships that carried the guntoting marines were also blown up.

"Stop it!" Christine screamed as she tried to summon another monster. But before she could even place the card in her dueldisk, the arm turned around and fired the mana straight at the beach. "I think you got his attention!" At that time, the sword in the sand shivered. The next instant a huge explosion covered the island, sickening fumes waxed against the walls of tower 0013. The sound of the burst alone had shattered all glass windows. At the very least this diversion stopped the right arms onslaught, as Dexia floated back to Shenorus. Only two boats were still aloft. "_We lived through that_?" Carter opened his eyes and saw three shadows standing in front of him. "Timaeus!" The Atlantian dragons had split back into separate beasts. Critias, Hermos and Timaeus had erected their own barrier to shield everyone on the island. "The dragons...again." One officer trembled. The troops werent very levelheaded about the situation anymore, some started to panic. The duelists werent as confident as before either.

"Damn it. We had enough trouble with form # 1, this one is just broken." Colin sighed. "There is only one thing that can inflict enough damage to destroy those arms in one shot." Jackson switched channels on his device again. "But the satellite was blown up wasn't it?" Christine said as he connected with Cable again. "Cable. How long til another satellite is positioned above the threat." He feared the bad news response. "Huh? Oh yeah. The closest one is currenly over Poland, it will take 45 minutes to get here. But maybe I should wait for the other three, then I can fire at the enemy before it can pick them off one by one." Cable suddenly got an idea. "Wait. Maybe it is possible... I could form a pattern like the company tried. If all four satellites fired in one single beam. Perhaps it could destroy the left arm instantly." They liked the sound of that.

_"No you dont."_

Nero flinched, he did not like the sound of this. A strange noise visited his ears, someone was talking to him? It was as if Fraser had been heard by the demon, Shenorus activated his strongest spell once more. "Oh boy!" It created another halo, which grew around its body and swirled above its head. "Is it firing at us?" But instead of looking at the island, the soulless eyes glared at the main land on the horizon. Beyond the setting sun was England, and a dangerous city. "He is going to.." Before they could figure it out, the holy wheel was released. "...Cable!" Jackson yelled through the link. "Get out. Get out of there now!!" The halo was already gone from sight. The marines could barely track it on radar, a loud blip that travelled at 45 degrees and 100 miles an hour. "Its going to the country.." They started to sweat. So did Nero "It can't be, this cant be happening." Then the blip on the screen was gone. "It stopped! It hit Liverpool!!" But it was true, Shenorus had really attacked the Outerdeck buidling from this distance. "Cable...Cable???" The line went down, the signal died. "CABLE!!" There was a green flash in the distance, and then... nothing. "No, he is.." A great silence came after the shock. Even the monster took its time to reflect on this moment.

The tragedy hit Jackson most of all, he had lost his oldest friend. Only static came from the comlink. "No. Maybe...he survived. We don't know if he was actually.." Carter said, as he tried comfort him. "You are not lieing ... for me.." Even so, denying it was not possible. "_This is too much...Ned, Ananka, Venice, Andre, Cable. Who is next_." Jacobus clenched his fist, he tried to supress his emotions. "Not us..apparently. The bastard is ignoring us." Colin hissed as he saw the body and the two arms levitate away from the island. It had fed on all the Orichalcum there was. Now it needed more souls. "No!" One of the officers suddenly cried out. "Its going to attack the country at this rate. Ever since the virus story came out, we have been evacuating all the citizens to the south. They are in danger!" Now those refugee camps had turned into a nice first meal for Tumaga's beast. This was another intended result from Kartels viral cover-up. "Damn you!" Nero suddenly shouted out. "Damn you Orichalcos! How many more must die, how many?!?"

And then as he raised his voice as much as he could, something happened that caught the interest of even Shenorus. "Hey?" The millenium puzzle underneath his coat started to glow and vibrate. "What ...is..Is it the Pharaoh?" He took the item out, and that was something he probably should not have done. As soon as the monster doll caught a glimpse of the golden puzzle, it forgot all about its plan to feast on simple human souls. This was the one spirit that it needed to gain its final form, the wielder of gods. "What are you trying to say to me" He tried to communicate with the one inside, but there was no answer from him. And he was too absorbed with this phenomenon to realize that Dexia was charging another blast. However there was one disembodied voice that reached out to him. "_Dont just stand there. Do you want to die_?" It was a girl that warned him, and he was surprised to hear her. "Cleo?" Yet the warning did not affect him fast enough. "What!?" And the enemy had already shot at him. "Nero!"

(To be continued in Testament 090: Right, Left or Inside)


	119. Testament 119: Right, Left, Inside

Testament 119: Right, Left, Inside

Nero stood right in the path of the lethal energy, Shenorus was about to wipe him from the face off the earth. He could not escape it, all he could do was stand, listen to the people behind him shouting, and wait for it to hit him. "No..." Yet that time would never come, one last object threw itself in between the two. "_Huh?" _The transparent image of a strange beastlike warrior was what took the blast. The malevolent energy deflected against its body, and ripped it to shreds. The kid was allowed to live. "_That was_" Then he became aware of his surroundings again and looked at the others. "Did anyone see that?" He wondered if they too saw what had saved him. "See what?" Yet the area was too chaotic, there were few that had their attention on his event. Some cried for medical assistance, others demanded to retreat. The commanders asked for the bomb raid to hurry up, Jackson was frantic about getting support to Liverpool. And those that did witness the miracle merely shook their heads, they were silenced by the surprise.

"It just...blew up." They had not seen the monster that was a black jackal: End of Anubis, nor could they her his masters voice. "Cleo.." Nero looked down and gasped. He saw that the puzzle was still glowing, and started to realize that this was what Shenorus was so interested in. "_And... Cleo is inside that thing..." _However the demons right arm: Dexia was not discouraged by the unexpected interference. It charged another blast between its fingers. "But how do I get to you? I dont know what to do..Cleo. Raness.." He sighed and closed his eyes, anticipating an answer. Instead he found an unsettling difference within the battlefield, as he started to listen. "_Where is..this?" _He opened his eyes again, and saw what could only be described as an island with a severe case of lag. Movements, words and light had slowed down considerably. Even his own arms struggled to move, his mind was going faster then his body could process. "What is going on?" He blinked, casting nervous glances at everyone that could help him. He seemed to be on his own, nobody noticed his problems. And then he saw her, his eyes widened as a reaction to the dark appearance. "Well, finally." The girl Cleo Caine said with an annoyed tone.

"Cleo!?" He yelled out in excitement, forgetting that he was paralyzed at some level. "Tsk. You need help getting loose?" The goth walked up to him. It was then that he noticed that she was walking on air. "It had to be you that saw me, didn't it? You that had to carry the puzzle." She yanked on his arm, and that simple move was enough to pull him out of this slowness. "What is happening to me, to everyone, to.." Naturally he had a lot of questions. She just sighed. "How would I know? We should just assume the pharaoh helped you with this. I have been here all the time, hoping that one of you could see me. Yet only when that puzzle started glowing, only then could I move around and do things." Like shouting at him and saving his life, not that she wanted to brag about that. "Wait. What do you mean, here? I thought you were trapped inside the beast along with...with." And then he saw where he had ended up. Behind him and far below him was the beach, with his motionless body on it. "Where else?"

They were inside the beast, their souls were. And in front of him, behind her, was an endless expanse filled with clear spheres. Each of the bubbles had radiant energy inside, some vibrant, some dim. "Those are.." He pointed at one of them. "Yes. They're souls." All the innocents whose lifes were drained by Tum'aga, the victims from the arena and the cities in England, they were all here. "And no, do not try to save them or anything. I tried, and it didn't work for me. This place is too confusing." He was still shocked. "How did I get in here? Was my soul stolen or..." He looked at the puzzle around his neck. "The King must've thought it was a good idea to push you in here. So you should technically be still alive. But what to do from here, I would not know." She did not see the use of sending Nero into the demons body.

"If he sent me here, then I have a purpose here. There has to be something that we can do inside the beasts shell." Of course it was rather hard to inflict physical damage as ethereal beings. "Hold it." Until he remembered what Cadron said earlier. "That guy said that the demon needed Atlantian blood for guidance." He flinched and looked to the right or left. "So?" Caine shrugged. "Simon and Simone! They have to be in here too, they are the most important souls!" Simone had her own soul absorbed by the demon when Colin beat her in a duel. While Simon was betrayed by Cadron and sent here. "So... where are they then?" Cleo asked. "..Good question." He stared at the mass of souls. It would be very difficult to find two specific spirits in that swarm. "If they are in control of this thing, they must be at an important place. They are twins so.." He began to move, it took some time to adjust to the 'weightlessness' of the area. "Where are you going?" Cleo followed. "To get a better view of this whole insanity."

The two went higher and higher until they were beyoned the bubbles, and looked down upon them. From here they could see their targets, two soul bubbles were not like the others. "Thoselook important." He pointed at two green glowing dots, in the center of the blue bubbles. The rest were pale, these were very bright. "That they do." They floated back down to the green glow, and there they found out the two were not trapped in spherical seals at all. They only stood on top of a green circle, looking rather dead at that. "Simon and Simone." The Creed twins did not seem to respond to their presence. "Perhaps we should wake them up?" The goth wondered. Yet they did not appear to be sleeping. However, as soon as they got within a feets range of the siblings, their eyes flared wide open. "Gah!" Their pale gaze scanned their bodies.

"So you broke free." Simone started to talk, her voice attaining a persistent echo. The same counted for her brother. "And you came to us." Despite their current situation, they had not lost any of their condescending mannerisms. "Is this desperation? Or is this ignorance? You can not stop the eternal, we have become part of the dark one." They just sounded a little wordier than usual. "Quit the myth-talking. We know you are controlling this thing." Cleo snapped. "Or maybe its controlling you. In any case, we know that it needs you to continue its onslaught. so if we free you, this will all end...right?" Jacobus nodded. "You are living with the presumption that we want to leave." They scoffed. "We may not be as dominant as we had wished. But we can feel the power, we can sense the endless energy of Orichalcos. We shall not abandon this vessel, we shall continue to steady its course." They looked more determined then lifeless now. "Ugh. Guess its no use talking to these thick skulls." She said to a Nero who was eager to agree.

"There is only one choice then." He reached for his coat. "Don't tell me." He pulled out his cards, or rather, a spirtual version of them. "Figures. Everything is settled with cards. She would complain as to how those things got in here. But since she already had an out-of-body duel before when she battled the Dark Phantom Jacob, she could accept it. "Plus you did summon Anubis earlier, without the actual card." Nero said. The creed siblings just stared as the two intruders readied their decks. "I am ready." Nero was about to finish his deck, when a strange breeze came across him. Cleo felt the same wave, and shivered. "Now what?" When Nero looked down again, he saw another card, one that he did not expect to see. "_This is....'he' is in here too_?" He looked aorund, but did not question it for too long. He placed the extra card into his deck and then he summoned a dueldisk. _"In that case, I will free him as well_" And when she figured out how to do the same, she too had her disk ready. "Guess I am done."

Finally the siblings reacted, and instantly conjured forth their Orichalcos-style dueldisks. "A tag-duel then. Sister and Brother of Atlantis against the wielders of the Pharaohs soul." They said at the same time. "I shall lead big sister, since you fell first." Simon drew six cards. "Very well, little brother. Do not fail me." Everyone could only draw five. "Cleo, ladies first." Their lifepoints were combined and set at 10000. "Sure, why not." The four were ready to begin the duel. "Its time to drive them out of the beast. It wont be easy, since Simone probably still runs her Vennominaga deck." Nero halfsmiled. It would be hard because they did not have one of the three dragons to help them. "True. But does he even have a deck, I thought he was the type to let computers fight for him?" She smirked. "Oh please. I know how to play your game."

Team Neo's LP: 10000 Team Creeds LP: 10000

"And I have a deck of my own as well." He activated one card from his hand, a continuous spell card: "A" Cell Breeding Device. "Its a different kind of reptile deck, a very foreighn venom. Allow me to introduce to you, the aliens..." It was a series of canisters, filled with strange oozing flesh. "Aliens? That does not sound very healthy." Cleo commented as she looked at the strange spell. "This card generates alien counters every turn. It literally inserts special alien DNA into the hosts of all other monsters. Let me show you what a counter like that looks like." Simon smirked and summoned a reptile monster. "Interplanetary Invader "A" (0/500)." He summoned what was basically an Alien Counter with legs. "Wow, that thing is hideous." The goth thought. Nero was more concerned with why Simon would summon something that weak.

Until he read the cards inscription. "Wait its effect is...Cleo! If you destroy that, the opponent will gain control of whatever destroyed it." He warned her. "Yes, I can read." She summoned the Trial of Hell (1300/900). "I am not Impressed." She then activated a spell. "Tribute to the Doomed. So much for that thing." She discarded a monster card from her hand to mummify and destroy the Alien with a spell effect. "Turn end." She yawned. "Besides none of us can attack in the first turn. Dont get so nervous so soon, Nero." Her turn was over, Simone drew a card. "Maybe he has good reason."

She summoned a different reptile to the field: A Venom Serpent(1000/800). "Oh...those." Instead of extra-terrestrial infections, her Snakes still used regular poison. "Venom spray." Serpent used its special effect to add one Venom-counter to the Nightmare Trial demon "Then: Venom Swamp." The first field was played, the four spirits were surrounded by the festering bloody swamp. The swamp that made venom and weakened all creatures with said venom, 500 points for each Venom Counter (Trial of Hell: 800/900). "Sister. You do realize that my monsters can not withstand venom, do you?" Simon looked at his sibling. "Do not fret so much, and I both know that my deck holds the greater power." From now on during her endphase, and a players respective endphase, each non-venom monster would lose 500 points to the counters, and if they went below zero attackpoints, they would die. "End turn." The coffin now had two of them (300/900), it would not survive another endphase. "I summon Elemental Hero Stratos!"

So Nero wasted no time to normal summon the aerial hero(1800/400) to his side, adding Necroshade to his hand with its effect. "And then I fusion summon Necroid Shaman(1900/1800)!" He played Polymerization to combine Wildheart and Necroshade in his hand. The Shaman could destroy one monster on the field, and revive another. "That monster? What can it do? There are no monsters in my graveyard or monsters on Simons field." Simone smirked. "Well. There are...three other players." He looked at a confused Cleo. "I saw that you discarded a monster, so.." He activated the necrotic effect, sending the doomed Trial to the grave to special summon Fiendish Engine Omega (2800/2000) from her graveyard. "Now we're talking." She said as the machine emerged. "I also set two cards facedown and end my turn."

"Then now the battle truly begins." Said Simon as he drew another card. During Nero's endphase the swamp started to add Venom to Shaman (1400/1800) and the Airman (1300/400). "Now, my Breeding Device activates." He picked one monster to add -counters too, he chose the Demon Omega. Next he summoned one of his stronger aliens. "Alien Warrior." A grey armored lizardman was called forth (1800/1000). "Kill Nero's fusion card!" The soldier large claws as well, and used them to rip off the Shamans head. "Hmph. They did not take damage because it was fused in defense mode. You should have attacked Stratos, but I guess you were to affraid of Necroids power." Simone grinned. "Be quiet sister, your turn will come." He rasped and placed a trap. "And then...their turns will come... oh yes."

Back in the outside world. "Ehr.." What is Nero doing?" Colin looked at the duelist who stood still in the midsts of the battlefield. "I can ask the same thing about that thing." Carter pointed at Shenorus, who had also ceased its movements. Even the energy that was charging between its fingers did not go anywhere. "He did something." One Jackson said. "Who, Nero? How!" Another one asked, starting a conversation in one mind. "No not him. The Pharaoh did. The puzzle started glowing in that instant, and now..they are gone." He could not sense their souls anymore. "It all depends on them now.." He sighed.

(To be Continued in Testament 120: That Ancient Serpent Called the Devil)

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine**  
Tribute to the Doomed

**New Cards used by Simon Creed**  
Interplanetary Invader A  
Alien Warrior

-  
"A" Cell Breeding Device


	120. Testament 120: That Ancient Serpent

Testament 120: That Ancient Serpent Called the Devil

"They are coming, it was about time." The commander grunted as in the distance three black figures appeared. "Those are.." Christine gasped. "Yeah, the bombers." Three heavy jetfighters soared over the ocean, getting closer and closer to Shenorus. "They will carpet bomb the target and leave nothing of it whole." A soldier stated confidently. "But...Nero." Rose flinched and looked at their friend, he was still comatose. "What will happen if we blow him up, and what will happen to all the souls?" Jackson thought the same thing and spoke to the commander once more. "Sir. Please hold off the bomb raid, at least for now." He shouted through the com. "Why would I do that, son?" He growled back. "Because our friends souls are in there, and they are doing something for our sake. We dont know if the bombing will ruin their plans." Those words did not convince him much. "You expect me to believe all that?" Doe sighed. "Is it any stranger then what you have seen today already?" He replied. And this made the captain wonder..

The twin Creeds dueled Cleo and Nero inside the body of Shenorus. Though Simone's style seemed to clash with Simons. "Tsk." His Aliens were weakened by her field card, in his endphase his Alien sank into Venom Swamp and lost attackpoints (1400/800) "Did everyone forget about me?" However it was now Cleo's turn. "Or this thing?" She pointed at her big machine, Engine Omega. It had not been affected by the Swamp yet. "Now I dont know why, but the brother annoys me more than the sister does. So you are the lucky one.." Omega snapped its claws in anticipation. "Kill that Alien." She declared, and the motor was about to crush its prey. "Trap card activated." Yet he retained his smug expression, and flipped the trap. "Interdimensional warp." The orbs on Alien Warrior started glowing, as did the A-counter on her monster. "This trap targets an alien and a card with their counters. Their minds.." Suddenly a dimensional jump occured. Now Omega stood on his side of the field, the Alien on hers. "You stole my machine!"

"Yes I did. But good for you for repeating that bit of information. You aren't as ignorant as we thought." He chuckled. "Ggh, screw you." Not wanting to get overpowered, she placed a monster in defense mode and ended her turn. "Hmm." The sister looked over the field, and counted the poisons. "_Two counters on the alien, none on Omega, and one on E-Hero Stratos_" She drew her card. "Venom Serpent. Finish your task." The snake sprayed acid. "Good, now we can destroy...." Simon said. But he was not so cocky when he saw what she was poisoning. "Huh?" The counter was added to Omega(2300/2000). "I sacrifice the serpent to tribute summon a Venom Boa (1600/0), and use his effect to add two more venom-counters to the Demon Engine." The three-eyed snake weakened Simons new machine (1300/2000). "Hey, this card is mine now, you know." He protested. "Stay calm, Simon. This is a part of my plan" She needed as many counters as possible. "I set a trap card facedown." Because this trap; Venom Burning, liked Venom a lot.

"The Boa can not attack in the same turn as it uses its effect, so I end my turn." In the endphase, the swamp took its toll on the monsters (Omega: 800/2000, Stratos: 800/400, Alien: 400/800). "_Four counters_" She now wanted to see what Nero would do with his monsters, would he summon even more prey for the swamp? ".." He looked at his hand. "I summon Chrysalis Larva (300/300)." Simone flinched. "That is your card? It will die after one turn." The woman harped. "Very well, I guess I dont have to wait for you. Trap card!" So she activated Venom Burning. "Omega's counters, I remove them all and inflict damage to your lifepoints, 700 lifepoints for each removed counter!" She laughed maniacally. "That is what you think, but I expected that trap!" He however flipped the trap Cocoon Veil. "I can sacrifice a Chrysalis-type to negate all damage I receive in a turn." She gasped, the veil blocked the burning acid. "Ever since you started to overdose on the venom, I saw it coming." And then the cocoon started cracking. "Moreover..."

"When the veil is on the field, the offered chrysalis opens up. The Larve will evolve into its full form" From the chrysalis came a Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab (500/400). It was empowered by 400 points for all spells and traps on the enemy's field (1900/400). "Also, I activate this card: Hero Mask. I discard E-Hero Neos from my deck to the grave." Suddenly a mask was equiped a mask to the sinking Stratos, a mask that looked like the face of Neos. "Right now, Stratos is E-Hero Neos in name only. And that means its time for.." The masquerading hero and the scarab merged. "Contact Fusion. Fire and space become Flare Neos(2500/2000)." Flare Neos had the same powers as the Flare bug, except it boosted its power for every spell or trap on the field (4300/2000). "The target is Venom Boa!" The three-eyed reptile was consumed by the hero's flames. At last the opposing team had taken damage. "Thanks for this." But thats what they were waiting for. "Continous trap: Damage Equals Reptile." The continuous trap returned.

Team Creeds LP: 7300

"Oh great... that card." Caine knew what it did, it converted damage to reptiles, they could summon one from their deck if it had less attackpoints than the damage they had taken. "There is only one target." And she called the king of poisonous snakes: Vennominion. "Twitch." And to their shock, its power (1500/0) was boosted by all three reptiles in the grave, Simons were counted as well. "One step closer to the descent of the deity. Thats how this duel will end, Simon!" Nero had a problem now. Flare Neos could beat the Snake Kind, but any Neos Fusion would return to the fusion deck in the endphase. "Quickplay Spell card, Contact Out!" He had no choice. "I split Flare Neos back into Flare Scarab (1700/400) and E-Hero Neos (2500/2000)." Both were summoned in defense mode. "My turn then." Venom Swamp weakened Nero's monsters (Scarab: 1200/400, Neos: 2000/2000) "Sister. You say that your cards will end this." At the same time the continuous spell. "A" Breeding Device gave Neos an A-counter.

He sacrificed Cleo's former machine Omega, for the Alien Mother(2300/1500), the mistress of Aliens. "Reap Neos." The maternal alien swiped her claws through the elemental weakened by both counters (1700/2000), slaying it. "And when mother claims a host of her DNA, she can revive it as her own." Neos showed up on his field, covered in veins and throbbing alien flesh (2500/2000). "I then activate the spell card: A-Cell Incubator. Every time an effect removes an alien cell, this card gains a counter as well." He ended with a set trap card. But then of course, Mother and Neos were affected by Simone's field card (Mother: 1800/1500, Neos: 2000/2000) "My turn." Cleo did not waste time and sacrificed Alien Warrior for Vampire Lord (2000/800). "If I kill the mother, all her children die as well, dont they?" She smiled as the vampire unleashed streams of blood from his cape, which consumed the swamped Alien. "Tsk, Simone your field is beginning to annoy me." E-Hero Neos was sent back to Nero's own graveyard.

Team Creeds LP: 7100

"Live with it, little one." She scoffed. He did not look pleased at all. "But, there is one upside to all this. Damage Equals Reptile, It functions on my side as well. I just took 200 damage, so I can special summon a 200-attackpoint reptile from my deck." A little tiny alien showed up (200/100) "Alien Psychic. This card will prevent any alien-countered monster from declaring an attack." But it was so weak, the duelists wondered why he bothered to summon it all. The swamp would kill it one turn. "I am not done yet. Due to your attack Cleo, Jacobus will suffer the consequences. Actually you all will." He flipped his two cards. "Spell card: Corruption Cell "A" and trap card: Detonator Circle "A"! The trap destroys any monster with an A-counter, and the spell gives any monster an Alien counter." He targeted the Neo-Spacian Scarab, giving it an counter before it blew up. Its destruction sent green fluids all over, Simone and Cleo were splashed as well. "This trap also inflicts 1000 damage to both teams." He chuckled.

Team Creeds LP: 6100 Team Neo's LP: 9000

"How childish." Simone brushed off her suit "For once I can agree." Cleo hissed and ended her turn. "Hmm." The Vampire Lord started to sink as well. "_That monster can revive itself if its killed by effects, so I should smother it with brute force_." She placed two trap cards facedown. "That trap of hers. Could it be.." Nero had a bad feeling about Vennominon in combination with traps. "However. Because you sacrificed Alien Warrior and killed Alien Mother, two are more reptiles are in the grave." Vennominion gained 500 atk for each of those (2500/0). "Thousand Fangs." A dozen snake heads came from the kings cape, and each of them bit the Vampire until nothing was left off it. "And then ends my turn." Now the Psychic alien disappeared into the bloody waters. Yet Vennominons attack went up by a further 500 points (3500/0).

Team Neo's LP: 8000

"My turn. I activate the spell card: Fifth Hope!" Nero would not let that discourage him. "I send five fallen heroes back into my deck" (Wildheart, Stratos, Neos, Necroshade and Shaman). Since his field and hand were empty, he could draw three new cards afterwards. "Next, if my field is empty I can play this spell: Convert Contact." He discarded Neo-Spacian Dark Panther from his hand and a second Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab from his deck to draw two new cards. "_Yes I have it at last _I normal summon Neo-Spacian Grand Mole!" The twins eyes widened. "The mole!" Creed rasped. "Yeah, I figure that your facedown trap is Descent of the Snake Deity. You were going to use that and Vennominons destruction to special summon Vennominaga. But the Grand spacian does not destroy.." The creature dug into the ground. "It sends monsters back to the hand." It came back to the surface underneath the serpent ruler. "Attack it!" He screamed. "No no no. I cant let that happen." Simone flicked her finger disapprovingly.

"Trap: Offering to the Snake Deity." Vennominon started to glow. "I can destroy one reptile on my field to destroy two cards on the field." The king blew up, taking down Grand Mole and Cleo's facedown monster with it. "Great. Now we really are out of monsters.." The goth cursed. "And then..the second card." Rise of the Snake Deity was activated, the trap which responded to the death of Vennominion. "No, that..can not be." Nero protested, he was sure that timing would disrupt the chain. "It can. The rulings for the Offering trap specifically state that it will work on Vennominon. So once again.." From the ashes and blood of the king, came the queen. The Rise Trap allowed Vennominaga to ascend. She absorbed the powers of all her fallen underlings (3500/0). "Immune to effects, immune to death itself. Your friend Colin only won because he had Critias on his side. You two arent so fortunate." The duelist stared in dismay. He could do nothing about this monstrocity. "Set trap card..End turn." He moaned.

"Trap card eh? Heheh, trying to use that against us?" Simon started off his turn by summoning a new Alien. "Alien Telepath(1600/1000) will take care of that. This monster can destroy one spell or trap if I remove an A-counter from the field." The breeding device had added one to Vennominaga, which he removed. This also added one counter to the incubator spell. "I destroy your set." However his facedown card was Dummy Marker. "Thanks, now I can draw a card." Nero grinned and picked one from his deck. "Laughing huh? We will see how much laughter there will be..when this is the dominant card!" Then he played one more card from his hand, everyone gasped. "Seal of Orichalcos!" The green circle surrounded all four, and empowered Telepath (2100/1500) and Vennominaga (4000/500). At the very least this destroyed the Venom Swamp and all its counters. Not that it made them feel happier. "Sorry about the field spell sister. We shouldnt play with our food anymore. I declare a direct attack on you Cleo!"

Team Neo's LP: 5900

The telepath had used its electric whiskers to shock ms. Caine. "_Food? Well that did it for me. Now I am mad_." She grumbled as she drew her next card. "Shrug this off." She activated the spell, Advanced Ritual Art. "I send 13th Grave and King of Yamimakai from my deck to the graveyard, to ritual summon this card." She showed the ritual monster: Zorc. It came to the field in a blaze of shadows. "Zorc(2700/1500) will use his effect to destroy one or all monsters on the field. Dice throw" She tossed the die, and it landed on a 1. "Perfect." She smiled as the demon used his fieldwide wipeout ability.

The blast took down the telepathic reptile and...not the Naga. "Gah." She instantly lost any enthusiasm that she may have had. "Silly girl. When I say immune to all effects, I of course meant it." Even worse, another reptile had fallen, giving its power to the deity (4500/500). "The seal is in place, the queen is not hindered." All Caine could do now was summon a monster in defense mode. "Yes, I agree. Its time settle our dispute and defeat them together." The Creeds nodded at each other. "Death by Hyper Venom. The first hypervenom counter...comes now."

(To be Continued in Testament 121: Simon Says Die)

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
Flare Neos

-  
Hero Mask

-  
Cocoon Veil

**New Cards used by Simone Creed**  
Offering to the Snake Deity

**New Cards used by Simon Creed**  
Alien Mother  
Alien Psychic  
Alien Telepath

-  
Corruption Cell "A"  
"A" Cell Incubator  
Seal of Orichalcos

-  
Detonator Circle"A"


	121. Testament 121: Simon says Die

Testament 121: Simon Says Die

Simone normal summoned a second monster to the field, the seal-powered reptile Skreech(2000/900). "Nero, will you do the honors." She smiled at the duelist and attacked him with her terrifying Vennominaga. "Ungh." The Snake Deity's snakes were about to bite him, when a monster jumped in the way. "Ahem. His partner is still here." In a tagteam duel, the other player could take hits for the defenseless one. Cleo sent Zorc to receive the hit. No damage was transferred since he was in defense mode. "In that case." The faceless monster Skreech scratched the goths facedown monster (Invasion of Flames: 1300/1200) to death. "I guess we will draw out the suffering of your defeat." She finished her turn by placing one card facedown. "We shall see about that!" Nero stated as he drew again.

The card that the Dummy Marker gave him was going to be very convenient. "Cocoon Party! I can special summon chrysalis monster from my deck for every Neo-Spacian in the grave!" There were four in the cemetery, so he summoned four cocoons from the deck. "And after that I activate the spell Contact, which transforms each of these into their full-grown forms!" In the end he special summoned and transformed into defense mode: Chrysalis Mole (700/100) into a second Grand Mole (900/300), Chrysalis Pinny(100/700) into a Glowmoss (300/900), Chrysalis Pantail(800/300) into a second Dark Panther (1000/500) and Chrysalis Chicky (600/400) into a Hummingbird (800/600). "Finally, my third spell card: NEX! This card evolves a N-Spacian even further." Glowmoss was chosen for the spell. "Glowmoss will enter the 'Next' stage." The glowing plant adopted a more human shape. "I special summon from my fusion deck: Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss(500/1100) in attack mode." The Creeds did not look that impressed. "So small.."

Team Creeds LP: 5600

"What does it do?" Cleo was not that overjoyed either. "When this card attacks, I can draw a card." The Moss charged, and he drew from the top of his deck. It was the spell card: Polymerization "And just like Glow Moss it has three effects depending on what is drawn. I drew a magic card, so..it can attack directly." He explained as the plant Spacian gave Simone a very soft slap. "Tsch, you have some nerve, child." She hissed as Twinkle Moss retreated. "Thats all." Meanwhile Simon hated to admit it. "I do nothing this turn." But standing right next to Vennominaga, it ruined his chance of doing anything on his own power. "Hmph, I expected you to fumble, brother. You always did. Even now you hide behind me." She laughed. "Yes, but in the end it was always me that stood longest. I see no need to come to the front, yet."

"If you two are done talking." Cleo summoned her Chaos Necromancer. "It is my turn now." The necromancer gained 300 attackpoints for each card in her graveyard. She had eight monsters (Omega, Zorc, Yamimakai, 13th Grave, Trial, Invasion, Spirit Reaper and Vampire Lord) so its power was (2400/0). "Attack Skreech." She killed the only monster that she could match up too. "No wait!" However Skreech had a special effect. "I reiterate: thank you." When it was beaten, it would take two other reptiles from the deck into the cemetery. "For crying out.." Three new dead snakes gave the Deity (6000/500) even more strength. "Tsch, set trap, you can go." She feared the worst, this would hurt a lot. "We shall. Let us continue where we left off. I attacked Nero last time, I think I shall do it this time as well. The Naga and her serpent hands glared at the Twinkle Plant. "You left it in attack mode. Good for us, bad for you." He flinched and activated the effect again. "Dont forget, I get to draw even during your turns, if you attack it."

Team Creeds LP: 5100

"If it is a trap my monster switches to defense mode. If its a monster card, the battle phase ends." He needed to draw either of those to stop the first Hyper counter from being made. "Draw!" And what he received was....a magic card. "Oho. Seems you struck out." Of course he could use the spell effect since he wasnt doing the attacking this time. "Kill it!" But then Cleo flipped her trap. "Fiend Comedian!" She smirked. "You already declared an attack, so..if I call the coin right, all reptiles in your grave are removed. And the Snake queen loses her attackpower!" Which would be the death of her. "Hmm? Are you trying to play savior again. It wont work..this time." But she had a counter for that, a counter trap. "Command of the Snake Deity. By showing a Venom-monster in my hand I can negate your trap." She showed Venom Cobra. "You .." Her trap was cancelled out, and the moss died anyway. The first Hypervenom counter was made from the 5500 damage given to the two duelists, two more and the duel would end. "At this rate you wont even survive to see a second Hyper Venom Counter." She cackled as she saw the steep LP drop. "Now. Let us see your desperate last turns." Nero entered his turn.

Team Neo's LP: 400

"Desperate? We arent that, Creed. We came this far, fighting for all the souls here. Despair can not stop us, neither can you. This was the spell I drew just before you killed the Moss." He activated Space Gift. "There are three Spacians on my field, this card allows me to draw three new cards." He did so, and continued with another spell. "We aren't alone in this." He activated all three in fact. "First card: Emergency Call. I can add any E-Hero from the deck to my hand." He added E-hero Prisma and summoned him to the field (1700/1100). "Second card: Fake Hero, I can special summon any E-Hero from my hand to the field." He special summoned a second E-Hero Neos(2500/2000). "And the third card: Righteous Justice. I destroy spells and traps for every E-hero on my field." There were two, so he could break two cards. He targeted and destroyed the A Cell Breeding Device and Damage Equals Reptile. "Heh. What do you mean you are not alone? These souls can not help you. They do not even know left from right anymore."

Nero shook his head. "I did not mean them, I meant the soul that gave me this card." He searched his deck and showed 'it'. The card added to his deck before this whole duel began. It was the Crystal Gem Lord: Rainbow Dragon. "The dragon?" They were mildly surprised. "Thats Andre's card." Cleo said. "Yes. This was what the spirit gave me. I discarded it with Prisma's effect, so that it becomes the dragon in name. And then..Polymerization." A bright light flooded the void. "They can fuse?" All seven colors merged merged with E-Hero Neos. The endresult was a shining white knight with angelic wings(4500/3000). "They can. This is Rainbow Neos." It was the fusion of Rainbow and Neos, all seven colors at once. "I know what you want to say, its power is not higher then your snake. But it has three special effects." Simone still scoffed at the monster before them though. "You never learn. Effects cant kill Vennominaga, nothing can." But Nero activated the effect anyway. "You are wrong, it can be killed."

He discarded the top card from his deck. "When there are no reptiles in your graveyard." Suddenly all dead snakes and lizards were blown back into the deck, and the queen lost almost all her power, except for the powerboost from Seal of Orichalcos (500/500) "No.." She gasped. "Yes Rainbow Neos can send all dead cards back to the deck if I discard the top card from my won deck. Without any reptiles to remove from the game, the deity can no longer empower or revive herself. Its over, Simone!" The radiant hero flew into the air and punched the immortal serpent queen in the face. Sending a stream of energy through her. "No!" The Deity could not regenerate the damage. She fell. A shocked Simone slumped to her knees. "I lost...again..to these two." The loss of her goddess hit her hard, this time she was not even taken in by an Atlantian creature. "Psh, sister. I told you what happens to the proud...." Simon was not as much stunned as he was intruiged. "But this power. Its fascinating."

Team Creeds LP: 1100

"In fact I believe I must steal it." He activated a spell card. "Mystical Space Typhoon, and I use this..on myself." He destroyed his A-Cell Incubator with the cyclone. "When the incubator is damaged, it releases its alien cells on others." One A-counter had been collected, so one came from the canister and was added to the Rainbow warrior. "I set a trap card." He ended his turn."Which I activate during your turns! I play the Brainwashing Ray!" He could activate his permanent trap. "What?" The other two gasped in unison. "Eheh, call it a corporate takeover. Such power does not belong to children. This trap takes control of any monster that has an A-counter on it" The rays paralyzed the mind of Rainbow Neos, and the monster flew over to his side. "This is it, sister. We win. It says here the second effect of Rainbow Neos allows one to sacrifice a monster to destroy all monsters of the enemy! We can sacrifice that Venom Cobra of yours to kill all their cards, and hit them for 5000 damage! The Creeds will win!"

The six-pointed star of the Seal of Orichalcos was branded on the forehead of Rainbow Neos (5000/3500). "It is just too bad that I had to wait a turn, if only I had drawn this trap earlier." He sighed. Simone meanwhile was still shocked from the loss of Vennominaga, so she did not comment on her brothers confident boasts. "Damn. I did not expect this. His card worked against us." Nero gulped. "Yeah well, we still have a turn before they get to use it." Cleo stated and placed two fingers on her deck. "Ha! You think you can beat this card that your partner has gone through so much trouble of bringing it out?" Creed shouted. "Thats your motto, isn't it? If you see something nice, you take it. If you find a forbidden city, take its riches, if you find a convenient company, buy it over. Not to mention all those souls.. Are any of the things here truly yours?" She raised an eyebrow as she spoke to him. "Didnt I tell you?" He proudly placed his hand on his chest. "I am an Atlantian, I deserve all this." He growled. "...Sure." She drew at last.

"But I can do that too, take things from others. And no I am not talking about mind control." She looked at Jacobus, and his three Neo-Spacians. "Cleo?" He realized that she needed his monsters for something, so he nodded. "I take Nero's cards: Hummingbird, Grand Mole and Dark Panther, and sacrifice them for a tribute summon." The three faded from the field into a black fog. "What do you have on your deck that requires three sacrifices." Nero had no idea what she was planning to do. "Dont tell me you want to lecture me about sharing and friendship." Creed smirked. "Not really. I just want to thank you for taking his strongest card..so I can have a part in it as well." A large orb of darkness appeared on the field, light could not penetrate it. "Devils Avatar." It transformed. Two wings came from its back, armor formed around it. "That is." Even Simone was stunned enough to speak again. A negative image of Rainbow Neos stood before them, its power (5100/3500) greater then the colorful version.

"This card is The Wicked Avatar." She just liked to call it Devils Avatar. "It copies the powers of the strongest monster on the field, and adds a hundred to it." It flew towards its original "Goodbye." The Dark Neos slew the original version in a heartbeat. Leaving Simons field wide open. "No, when did you..." He could not believe it, he did not know she had a card like that. "As I told Justine and Jacob. Even I will change my deck if I keep running into bastards like you." And the goth had one more monster. "But the killing blow is reserved for a card I have used while the game was still profitable for me. Chaos Necromancer, finish him." Her fiend gave Creed a direct attack, ending the duel. "We lost.." The two said, their voiced lacked the arrogant tone for the first time since years. "We could not beat these two...why!?" He snapped

Creeds LP: 0

"What difference does it make if we know or not." Simone cursed and looked away. "We failed the dark one, we failed Ger." Nero flinched. "What..you failed.." Just then the void began to rumble. "No, not us too. Not us!" The circle beneath the two started to shrivel up, and a bubble formed around the siblings. "Give us another chance!" A panicked brother and a resigned sister were now caught in the same prison that held every other stolen soul. "Gi..us..ntro." The Field made no exceptions, even Atlantians were eclaimed Their sounds were already drowned out. "Wish I could feel sorry for them." Caine and Jacobus then watched the two join the rest of the soul swarm. They were just like any other human now: food for Shenorus. "But..is that all we did?" Cleo glared at all the bubbles around her.

At the same time, outside, the army was waiting just a while longer. And just when it seemed that the bombers would lose their patience, something happened inside that effected the entity outside. "What?" The left arm of Shenorus started to spark, and cracks formed in its armor. "How did that..we didnt do anything yet!" The commandar shouted, straining his voice. "Was it....". They sparks grew to outright explosions. "This is crazy." In the same minute, a shining light came from both Dexia and Aristeros. It cracked through the damage of the armor and forced more Orichalcum to break apart. "How did this happen?" In that moment both arms of the claydoll-like demon were shattered to pieces by a seven-colored light. "They did this, they must have." Christine said with renewed hope, while the army just stood there, dumbstruck.

"Can we fire now?"

(To be continued in Testament 122: Infinity End)

**New Cards used by Cleo Caine**  
The Wicked Avatar

**New Cards used by Nero Jacobus**  
Chrysalis Pinny  
Chrysalis Chicky  
Chrysalis Pantail  
Neo-Spacian Twinkle Moss  
Rainbow Dragon  
Rainbow Neos

-  
Contact  
NEX

**New Cards used by Simone Creed**  
Skreech

**New Cards used by Simon Creed**  
Mystical Space Typhoon

-  
Brainwashing Ray


	122. Testament 122: Infinity End

Testament 122: Infinity End

At the same time, the millenium puzzle began to glow again. "Hey." Colin walked over to the comatose Nero to see what that was all about, when he noticed that his fingers were twitching. "He is.." The others noticed the movement as well and came closer. "Nero!" Finally his eyes opened and the item lost its radiance. "Wha..where am I?" He was rather dazed. He had gone from a black soulfilled expanse to a solid area underneath a dark sky. "I am back?" He shook his head. "Yeah you are. But where have you been?" They had many questions, but he had them too. "What about Cleo?" He asked. "Cleo?" Just then there came some noise from the quickly-put-up medical tent. "Get off. I am fine." It was her voice, she just woke up while surrounded by unknown soldiers and a medic. "You..found her? You went inside that thing and.." Jackson started to understand the extents of his adventure. "Well. It was not me that went in. And it was not me that brought us both back." He lifted the puzzle from his neck. "Raness did. He was watching us all this time."

Next, he produced a card from his pocket. "Oh, Will." It was the same card that saved their lives. "Raness also still had this with him. He gave it to me, so we could defeat the enemy inside." He handed Rainbow Dragon over to William. "This card? Its Andre's." He nodded. "Yes. I first thought that it was your brother that gave me this card, but he already..passed on." He sighed. "Its okay." Carter said back to him. "..Well..then.. I remembered that the Pharaoh took over his deck, so he must have done this for me." Without Rainbow Neos they could not have destroyed Vennominaga, and vanquished the Creeds. "Hey, arent you two going to talk about that thing?" She had finally rejoined the team, only to point at Shenorus in the distance. "Oh right. I see the bombers are here. Jackson, you still have the com right?" Doe showed him the device. "Good. Report to the commander, tell him to fire everything they got. It should be okay, the monster is 'disarmed'. We took out Simon and Simone's souls inside, they controlled that thing."

With the left arm no longer capable of magnetically attracting all strikes, the main body was wide open for the army's swift revenge. "Good thing too, the jets don't have unlimited fuel." The demon was still not moving. "I wonder why..is it because no threats were made against it?" Christine was still worried. "Bring it down!" The order was given and the jet fighters flew over the doll shell, dropping one bomb after another. It was for some the most beautiful sight they had ever seen, the carpet bombing of the monster that had tormented them all night. "Woo!" Fragment after fragment was torn off, the destruction was almost glorious. Colin could not help but cheer, while Cleo covered her ears as to not grow deaf from the whole scene. In the end there was nothing left of the doll-like entity. Orichalcum scraps sank back into the ocean and the ominous seal light was gone. It was almost as if they finally had their happy ending, almost. "Wait." But they had nearly forgotten, 'Shenorus' was merely an armor for the dark one 'Kyutora' to hide in.

"That thing is.." And it was no longer a small needle-skinned creature. What came from the smoke was a curled-up gigantic serpent. "The heck?" Which did not take long to uncoil itself and reveals its true hideous form to the onlookers. It was a seaserpent taller then the entire tower. Its scales were as thick as titanium and as sharp as diamond. Its tail could level a city if it wanted too. And the eyes of the demon snake were filled with an intense malice. There were two patterns on the snake's forehead, the star seal and the infinity sign. "Is that its full form? Is this what it has been building up energy for?" Christine gasped. While everyone beheld the demon with wide eyes, it grew two fin-like wings, and lifted itself up into the air. "That is him. That was the name of the dark one, with whom Tum'aga made the contract." Nero told the others. "Its Ger. Its name is Ger, the leviathan. But this can not be happening, unless....." There was only one answer. "Someone else is in there controlling the main body. Perhaps that's what the Creeds implied."

"Why didn't we find that person?" Nero stared at the great leviathan as it flew higher and higher. "No time to talk. We cant let it get away!" Carter said as he pulled out his dueldisk. "Tell the commander to give it every missile and bomb we have left. It has to be stopped before it finds all those refugee camps." Jackson nodded, relayed the message and the captain received it. "Feh. Only two ships left, no missiles. What about the jetfighters?" He asked the pilots. They responded by saying that they had one bomb left per plane. "Then use them!" He growled. The bombers dove back into the battlefield, and headed towards the serpent Ger. It did not even pay attention to them, not until they released their cargo. "Wait, look out!" As the explosives were dropped, an energy build up occured. From the spiked scales came shorts bursts of green light. "Its firing back?" Onle three shots were fired, because there were only three targets. Instantaneosly, the jets were blown to pieces, and the men inside reduced to ashes. "No, damn it, no!."

The bombs themselves blew up against the skin of the beast, yet it did not even budge as they touched it. "Damage?!" The commander shouted for some good news, but he would not receive it. "Nothing, sir, absolutely nothing. They could not penetrate the surface, they could not harm it in any way." The same result could be seen on the island. "Argh, it still has that tough exoskeleton." Jackson cursed. "How do we stop it? I dont see any weak points except for the eyes again, maybe." The leviathan was on the move again. "The puzzle wont respond either." Nero shook it, trying to recreate that phenomenon that helped him the first time. But nothing happened. "Unless.." He had one idea why nothing happened anymore, but he could not voice it in time. "The dragons are our last chance." Rose interrupted. "They have the power to hurt it." It seemed that Timaeus, Critias and Hermos were already willing to go that far. "Wait, if we attack it, the people around us will get blasted as well, wont they?"

That was true too. "Guess we should move to the other side." Which they did, while the rest of the navy just stood there looking utterly desperate and confused. "Send them in!" And when they reached a safe area, they summoned all the monsters they could muster. "Draw his attention." Angels and demons, heroes and symbols, swordsmen and gunners, the six duelists called them all. They fired from the ground and from the air, pelting Gers hide with blasts from every color. And still it did not flinch. At the very least they distracted it from its more destructive goals, it even turned its head back to the attackers. "Now!" Then the three dragons flew forward, racing towards the head of the leviathan. They had to hit it, the exposed eyes. If they could blind the beast, it would give them an advantage. "Wait!" Yet as they came within one yard of the beasts head, something changed with its appearance. A small bubble appeared on the black forehead. "?" Someone or something came out, between the two malicious eyes of Ger.

It looked like a human, its body blackened and halfgone as if he came from a tar pit. "Who is that?" The entity did not resemble anyone they would know, neither Simone nor Simon looked anything like this. But as it came out, the puzzle started going wild. "Whoa." Nero had to drop it to the ground because it became burning hot. And even as he let go, it trembled around in the sand. "Raness is.. influenced by that thing." He turned to the goth. "Cleo..I think that..we caused this. We allowed the pharaohs soul to come in contact with the darkness." Which was what it had always wanted "Even that short encounter was enough for Kyutora to evolve into that monster. Its godlike." He told her, with heavy breaths after every word. "We? Well thats swell. I didnt even ask for his interference." She hissed. "Then is that thing, a copy of the pharaohs soul? Or is that the third dominator." They could not tell from this distance, only the dragons saw the man up close. They would not live to tell their discovery. "Attack anyway!"

The dragon trio released their blue, purple and red flames upon the snake's eyes. They bathed its visage in atlantian flames, shrouding it with smog. Everyone held their breath as they waited to see what damage lied behind this cover. However the first thing that came out was not a roar of pain, but a laugh. "!!" The human on top of the demon was laughing, smiling even. And the next object that emerged was raw unholy energy. "Get out of.." A wide beam came from its open jaws, Critias, Timaeus and Hermos could not even get away in time. They were erased from the sky with that one move. "Uh..time to run!" Sairve was the first to get as far away from the frontline. The rest saw the use behind that as more scales began to glow. The same salvo of bursts was released, it rained down upon the beach. "Eeyaah!!" They barely had the time to get out of range, all their monsters were killed in the onslaught. "Ughgh" They had nothing left, all was wasted on Ger. Now they had its full attention, it stared right at the tower and the people below.

"Now what?" The dark figure produced a smirk that none could witness. Then the beast tipped its tail into ocean. "The freaking hell is that?" It was as if the beast was spilling oil, the ocean started to turn as black as the enemy itself. In fact it looked as if Ger was spreading out its skin across the water. Every ripple brought the corruption further, it reached the ground and it did not stop there. "This can not be good." And the first victim presented itself as a soldier that got to curious. "This is..arrrrgh!!" He only took one step towards it and it lashed out. Tentacles and other slimy extensions grabbed him by the neck and limbs. Others soldiers screamed and started shooting at the stuff, which of course did nothing. A minute later the one body collapsed with a vacant expression on his face. "This is how..it absorbs souls?" Doe shivered. Next to go were the other troops, they could not save themselves by emptying their rifles. And the contamination was now all over the place. "Gah!" Even the boats were in danger, it crawled up the hull and started claiming spirits of the marines as well. The entire area was painted black, and this was only the beginning of the serpents purging. "To the tower!" William yelled frantically.

They had nowhere else to go, lifeboats, cars and tents were torn to shreds by the ink-like abomination. "This figured. I just got free and already that thing wants to eat me all over again." Cleo rasped, even though technically it was Christine that doomed her the first time. "Just run!" They weren't even sure if the building provided the necessary protection, they simply had no other ideas. Some of them made it, some of them did not. The five duelists were already in the lobby, as the soldiers tried to jam the doors, when they noticed that ther were supposed to be six of them "No..not.." Nero looked out a window and saw him, standing in the middle of all that chaos. "Jack!" He called out to him, as loud as he could. But Doe was not answering, he stared at the snake god in front of him. And he had a determined look, before he was taken.

"No!" Moments later the tower itself began to drown in a sea of black sludge. While Ger could not immediately attack those inside, it could block all exits and trap them inside. That way it would slowly devour their souls, while not giving them a chance to see what was going on outside. Everyone else was already gone, the ground and sea had been cleansed of souls. And it did not sit retract the infestation, all it did was expand. More and more of the ocean turned dark, at this rate it would strike the coasts in half an hour. All seemed lost, Orichalcos would have its way and drain all life from the world to obtain the perfect godlike existence. What it would do from there was a thing only it would know. Jackson was the only duelist to experience what it was like, to lose his soul to the infinite darkness.

Jackson stood in the sea of shadows, the oil reaching to his knees. His eyes were no longer filled with spirit, they were as bleak as all the things around him. The sky had gone darker then even the night, and the stars were replaced with thousands of soul bubbles. He was in the belly of the beast now, and Ger would inevitably devour his soul. But that would not be as easy as the demon wanted it to be. Because Doe was no ordinary prey, this one was fragmented into smaller personalities. The symbols were always near, circling the body that they all shared. ".." It could not be trapped, they could not be added to the collection. Yet the the snake god would not give up, it sent its own emissary to inspect the situation. "!" It came from the black ocean, the same figure that had mocked the duelists efforts before, the one that was above even Simon and Simone. Finally the twenty-one symbols could concentrate on a common single foe. Slowly they too began to take a visible form. The shadow was someone they had never seen before, and yet..

"What are you."

His voice was painfully familiar. "Its you." Lucifer of the Star Symbol was the first to speak for all the Personae. "..Cadron." And he spoke to the new form of the mad scientist.

(To be continued in Testament 123: The Deepest)


	123. Testament 123: The Deepest

Testament 123: The Deepest

"You are... Cadron." Jackson rasped. The shadow before him smiled. "You should call me that, yes. But.. you can't. I am not him, merely a representation of his work." It chuckled. "Now that I look at it, you look younger." Cybele said. "Then he implanted a part of himself into the demon. I thought he said that only Atlantian descendants could control this monster." The younger scientist flicked his finger. "Wrong. I don't need to be controlled, I am control. Cadron implanted this part so that I could roam free and ignore the decisions of the Creed. When I touched the pharaohs soul, I searched his memories, and found the name of the leviathan: Ger." A name was sometimes all it took to gain domination. "I no longer needed them to move, the memory of pasts power drives us now. I am Cadron and I am Orichalcos, we will be together eternal." The others just stared at him. "_Then I guess the real one is drowning back in Atlantis_." Since they took his sub and all. "But you did not answer MY question." His voice boomed. "WHAT...are you?"

He repeated, loudly. ".." Strangely none of the arcana symbols could answer immediately. "You do not even know? You do not even understand how you have come to be? There are all sorts of riddles around you, riddles that Cadron was willing to delve into. We had parts of your soul with us before, but Justine took you away, she lost you." He produced a visual of the crystal that once held five of Jacksons souls. "Are you a whole, or are you a collective? Is Jackson shattered, or is he a void for you to live in? Are you telling me, that you don't know!" He sounded a bit agressive now. "Why do you care?" They replied. "Is it because you can not absorb our soul, until you understand us?" Suddenly the fallen angel developed an idea, and he could not help but smirk. "I see. You need to know it, because of our connection. However, we wont tell you. We will fight to destroy you while you try to claim us. We all will duel for the soul of Doe, and the rest of the world." The shadow stopped smirking. "So be it. A duel, the winner takes all."

"But it will not be me who you shall face. In order to learn, we shall create the perfect opponent." The sea started to tremble, black waves crashed in every direction. "What are you doing?" A nervous Attis asked him. "What he said he would do: make us an enemy." Scatach said in a cold tone. Ripples formed in the oil underneath the Cadron-wraith. He started to lose color as a second entity was born in Gers mind. "Who is." Before them stood a woman, one that had the same dark hair and clothes as Jackson Doe. "Flesh born from the cleansing. One of the first humans to walk our new earth." It laughed softly as she opened her eyes, even their color was similar. "Is this a joke?" Seth growled. "No. This will be your opponent, I think I will name her: Jane... Jane Doe." Her eyes even had the same color. "What do you mean? What is this first human you speak off?" Orpheus grumbled. "That is the destiny of Ger. The dark one rises to purge the lands, all spirits that abandoned the sea will be eliminated and replaced with new souls."

All bodies will embrace a new god, us." Jane materialized a dueldisk. "She will be the first. This duel will recreate the oddity that is Jackson, recreate it within her. Then when you have lost, we can continue the draining of souls. What is a better target...nothing." Doe also activated his dueldisk, even though he was still unable to speak or move in any other way except dueling. "It ends and it begins." The girl drew five cards. "You can start us off." The symbols wondered how similar these two duelists were, what kind of deck would she run? "I do not like this. We have to be careful. He would not give us the initiative unless he planned something." Jackson then drew six cards, two of which were monster cards. Melchidezek and Arahabaki gained more color to their appearances. "He has chosen. I will go first." The claydoll came to the front, as his card (600/500) was placed into the monster zone. "We will also place two cards facedown." One trap and one spell were placed behind Arahabaki. "Turn end."

Jacksons LP: 8000 Jane's LP: 8000

And then she began the game for real, as she summoned her first monster. "What in the world?" A strange event, to look at yourself without the use of a mirror. But thats what the Persona saw, himself(600/500). "She summoned him too? She has the same deck?" Two Hermit avatars now stood on the field, one for each player. "This is impossible, Cable made only set of the cards." Orpheus protested. "There is only one Araha.." But the hermit himself was not so sure, because as he said it, the other said it too. "Wait..what? Which one of you is the real one?" The other Personae asked. "I..don't know.. When I look at myself, I forget where I stand." From his point of view, he saw both Jackson and Jane behind him and on the opposite side. "I am at two places at once." He was too confused to act. And it seemed like Jane did not bother to relieve the tension by being active. Rather she placed two cards facedown as well, the same thing that they had done. "The same deck as us..so she drew the same cards?" This was a really bizarre enemy.

"Tsch, we won't be fooled Arahabaki." Jackson drew, but it was not a Persona monster. "I shall take over." Melchidezek, the angel, came to the field. "We tribute the hermit for the lv6 Justice Symbol(2000/1500)." But removing one symbol did not end the oddness. "Wait." Arahabaki did not feel as if he was removed, instead he felt more in place then ever. He now only saw Jane behind him. "She took me?" The Just angel frowned. "Then I am sorry Ara, but I have to attack you." The winged warrior took his weapon and flew into the air. "I know." However she was not ready to let go, and played the quickplay spell Dark Hour. "Oh no!" The spell prevented her monsters destruction (Though not the battle damage). "And now Melchid will be destroyed instead." Attis flinched. "Not so fast." Yet Jackson was also determined to keep his monsters alive, and flipped his own Dark Hour to negate the reflected destruction. Because this time it was an effect that was negated, a second deflection did not occur. "They really do have the exact same cards!"

Jane's LP: 6600

_Melchizedek - Symbol of the Justice, 5/2000/1500 Light/Fairy/Persona  
Only one 'Persona' card of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: Choose a monster type. A monster of the chosen type cannot be summoned to the field as long as this card is face-up on the field.  
Spell: You and your opponent cannot activate normal spell cards as long as this card is face-up on the field.  
Trap: You and your opponent cannot activate normal trap carda as long as this card is face-up on the field._

And now it was her turn, and she imitated Jackson once more. "No..I feel.." Arahabaki faded at last, as she tributed him for her own Melchidezek (2000/1500). "This can't be happening." Now Melchid too was at two places, he did not know which master was which. "Attack" Then a voice whispered into his ear, and he was forced to launch at himself. "No." Both angels clashed their weapons. "Ggh, trap card!" He shouted and flipped the trap: Alteration of One's Mind, to reduce his evil clone's attackpower by 500 points (1500/1500). "Huh?" It worked, and the sword broke. Yet his own blade was shattered as well (1500/1500). "She did it too." Jane had the Alteration trap too, and used it to weaken the good Melchids attackpoints. Both symbols killed each other anyway. "Damn, this makes no sense." Lucifer cursed. "Melchidezek, Arahabaki, where are you?" He tried to find them, but not even their spirits were left over. "Heheh. You should be able to guess, Personae. Those two have become one with Ger now. Nineteen remain.."

"You have done what with them?" Orpheus cursed. Jane did not answer, nor did the Cadron shadow. Instead she played a spell, Chosen Personality. That card would allow her two new cards if she discarded one Persona. So she threw away the recently drawn Empress symbol. In return she drew Persona Summoner and Sadness, giving her hand a headstart. "You wont talk.." It was his turn. "Then you will pay." Jackson drew another card. "I too use Chosen Personality." He discarded Harlot as well, and drew Sadness and the Tower symbolist Shiva. "My turn" He summoned it to the field, the blue symbol, Shiva (1800/500). "I know what cards are in her hand..." They were the same: Damage equals Soul Energy, Persona Summoner and the Support Consciouness. "She will draw 'me' on the next turn. But that wont stop my fury!" He attacked her directly, pelting her with light. Shiva's attackpoints were not weakened by Alteration since he did not do battle with a Persona monster. Another trap however did work.

Jane's LP: 4700

_Chosen Personality, Normal Spell  
This card's effect does not change the effect of a 'Persona' monster card. Discard one 'Persona' monster from your hand, then draw two cards from your deck._

"Look!" She activated Damage Equals Soul Energy. "Ugh..nngh." And Scatach began to struggle, the finger of the enemy pointed at her. "No..she...chooses.." The effect of the trap allowed her to special summon a Symbol if it had less attackpoints then the damage she suffered. She picked the Priestess card(1500/1500). Scatach appeared on her side, even if she did not want too. "Tsk." This also meant that her deck would be reshuffled. "Now we no longer know what card she will get next. But the same goes for you." He placed his own damage trap. His turn was over. "Shiva..I am sorry." His anger subsided when he realized what she would do. The Persona Summoner was called upon, and he used his effect to shift the Priestess into her monster-effect. "Forgive me." The enemy discarded a card, and the effect was activated.

All monsters except Scathach would be destroyed and sent to the grave. "No..this was not your..gaaaah!" The Tower symbol disappeared, swallowed just like the Hermit and Justice. "Damn you. Why do you want us so much!" The Fools Persona shouted again. "You can't even figure it out if I did tell you." Cadron shrugged. "But do not be sad. You will enjoy working for Jane too. Don't you enjoy it Scatach?" She flinched. "N..never." But against her best wishes, she now had to declare a direct attack against Jackson, the man that she had been living in for years. "Jackson." While ske kept a stern expression as she hit the vessel with her magic, her soul was weakened. And then something happened. The darkness around them started flashing, as if a lightning storm had hit them. "We're getting a pulse it seems."

Jacksons LP: 6500

An image crossed everyone's eyes, and another, and another. A whole slideshow of still frames was formed in between every burst of light. "This is." They saw a younger Jackson, inside a dark place. They saw a shining object in his hands. They saw something bright, and so did Jackson. And then it was all over. The show had ended. "...That was the past was it not?" The villain quickly had his theory. "The moment you were forced to hurt Jackson, you dug up a memory from his soul. That time..that must have been the instant that you were born." Every personae flinched. "What do you mean, born. We are.." But then another image showed up, it was one of the Kartel scientist, in his human form. "Don't lie to me. I know a part of the truth already. I had five of you in possession before, and I managed to date you. The type of energy that you are made off, it has only existed for seven years. Ergo, until seven years ago, Jackson was one mind." They were too stunned to object. "I think I understand you all now."

"Heh. You are not special spirits from an ancient mythology, allthough your abilities are quite unique. No. The symbols are just that, avatars of one person. Each of you represent a fraction of his original soul." Only when they were together, could his actual character come to the surface. "Something must have broken him apart, I am guessing that he found a power that he could not handle. As such he divided himself mentally, to cope with the forces. Thats why each of you resemble duel monsters. All I wonder about now, is what it was that left you like this. And where that 'it' is now" He chuckled. "We know what it was. We will not tell you, we will not let you find it." They themselves knew little of Jacksons past, before the split. But he was once in a dark place, all alone. There in a cave he found a strange item, and then..all was dark.

That entire day was a mystery to them, any links to a past were not brought up again. He had to move on, meet new people like Cable. Fraser helped him in so many ways, and gave all twenty-one symbols a voice, a form. "_Our name may not even be Jackson Doe_." But they could not think about it now. If they truly were parts of Jacksons origin, then the loss of three symbols had only brought him closer to death. "We can not stop now. Its our turn...trap card Damage equals Soul Energy." They too had that trap and were about to summon something with 1500 attackpoints or less from the deck. The strange thing was that they could still select Scatach(1500/1500), she was in their deck too after all. "This is unreal." But she suffered the same fate as the claydoll, and saw herself standing in front of Jane and Jack at the same time. "Dont be confused Scat, you wont kill yourself if you attack. That is not the real you." Siegfried stated. "I wont be. My own powers will now work against her." She discarded a card.

"Persona Summoners effect was used last, so we are still on the monster-level. I destroy all monster cards except myself." As odd as this sounded, it worked. The clone in front of her faded, and she no longer looked at Jackson as an enemy. "Then we normal summon the union monster: Support Consciousness Sadness (500/500) and I unite with it." Her power went up (1700/1700). "Now I can discard a card from Jane's hand, if I inflict damage." She attacked Jane Doe directly and made her discard the last card that remained in her hand, Jane's version of Sadness. "It will not hinder us any longer, Cadron. That girl is just an illusion, we live and stand by him alone. And we will destroy this soul prison." They said with determination. Yet at that time something unexpected happened.

"Wont..."

The girl said her first word...

Jane's LP: 3000

_Support Consciousness-Sadness, 3/500/500 Water/Spellcaster/Union  
Can only be equipped to a 'Persona' monster card. A monster equipped with this card gains 200 attack and defense points.  
When a monster equipped with this card succesfully attacks and destroys an opponent's monster as a result of it's own effect, discard one card from your opponent's hand.  
(1 monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster is destroyed as a result of battle, destroy this card instead.)_

(To be Continued in Testament 124: Once More, With Feeling)

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**  
_Symbol of The Justice - Melchizedek_  
_Support Consciousness - Sadness_

_-_  
_Chosen Personality_

**New Cards used by Jane Doe**  
_Symbol of The Hermit - Arahabaki_  
_Symbol of The Justice - Melchizedek_  
_Symbol of The Priestess - Scathach_  
_Persona Summoner_

_The Dark Hour_  
_Chosen Personality_

_Alteration of One's Mind_  
_Damage Equals Soul Energy_


	124. Testament 124: Once more, with Feeling

Testament 124: Once More, with Feeling

While a duel went on inside Ger, it was apparent that time moved slower on the outside. Only now did the people hiding in tower 0013 reach the top floor. "It's still here." The bottom floor was covered with soul-absorbant oil, and only the upper levels had windows not stained by the black material. "Its not doing anything?" They looked through the window and saw the snake god, as motionless as Shenorus had been before him. The opil stopped moving a few minutes earlier, and everything had gotten quiet. "Well this time it was not us." Cleo said. "Maybe its Jackson...giving the snake a big heartburn." Colin joked, not knowing how true his statement actually was. "Whatever the answer is, its out of our hands now." All communication with the outside world was cut off. "And that does not feel good..at all."

Jacksons LP: 6500 Jane's LP: 3000

To everyone's shock, even the shadow Cadrons, Jane said her first word. "What the hell...she can talk?" Satan Doe growled at her. "That's..new." Everyone stared at her, Cadron was the first to regain his composure. "I see. My little girl is growing up. Aren't you dear?" He said with a mock-fatherly tone. ".. learning." She spoke again, stunning the Personae once more. "That voice..she sounds like..." To them she sounded nothing like their Doe. But she sounded a little like Scathach, Arahabaki..and Melchizedek "learn, from death. Their death.." She glared back at them, with an inhumanly cold gaze. "That's right. The more you take of his soul, the more you start to feel human. Once the duel is won, you will be your own soul, and he will be no more." The wraith laughed. Though he stopped when the girl raised her hand. "No." She placed it on the deck. "Want to be..different." She played The Tarot, sending five dead symbols back to the deck, to draw two new cards. Both were symbols so she was able to draw once more, and gained a spell.

"?" One of the two symbols was a Mother Harlot. Except in her fingers, the text and the art all changed. It became a completely new card. "Empress." She summoned a symbol, a symbol of the Empress, and it was not the one Jackson used. "Penthesilea (1800/1500)." Instead of a skullthroned demoness, it was a dual wielding female in an armored girdle, chains and crowned helmet. "I can't believe this. She can make her own personalities?" Odin Doe grunted. "My own.." However hers did not seem to have any character at all, Penthesilea was very quiet. So without warning she dashed into the air and used both swords to cut down Scatach. The two Alteration Of One's Mind cards weakened both sides (Empress: 1300/1500, Priestess: 1200/1700) "No." But Scathach was still united with the Support of Sadness. The union monster died in her place. "Descendant symbols?" Though battle damage was still transmitted and she lost her powerboost (1500/1500). "My my, already she wants to be independent. And already she is so strong."

Jacksons LP: 6400

_Penthesilea - Descendant Symbol of the Empress, 4/1800/1500 Water/Warrior  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: When the last effect resolves, send one monster on the field back to it's respective owner's hand.  
Spell/Trap: When the last effect resolves, send one spell or trap card on the field back to it's respective owner's hand._

Jane placed a spell card facedown and ended her turn. "How does one make a symbol. That must be what you are wondering." Cadron taunted them. "Those are not true symbols. They can not be, they do not feel alive." Scathach scoffed. "Its all an imitation, a trick. I will end this." Jackson discarded a card from his hand, Thor, to reactivate the effect of the Priestess. "Be gone!" Her magic surrounded and attacked Penthesilea. "She will...not." But the female Doe flipped her quickplay spell card. "Ascend... Empress." The faceless warrior disappeared from view, and she missed its target. "What?" Instead a new form of the symbol came forth. "Ascendant Symbol: Artemisia(2300/2000)." A woman in a metallic dress, with swords, spikes and a mask nailed to her face. "You...go away." And now the priestess disappeared from sight. "?" For reasons not known to her, she was cast back into the fingers of Doe. Artemisia had the special effect to bounce back any monster once they had used an ability of their own.

_Ascension, Quickplay Spell  
After the activation of this card, tribute one 'Persona' monster with 'Descendant' in its name.  
Special summon from your hand, deck or graveyard a 'Persona' monster with the respective 'Ascendant' term as indicated on the monster card._

Artemisia - Ascendant Symbol of the Empress 7/2300/2000 Water/Warrior  
This card can not be normal summoned or set, this card only be special summoned by the effect of 'Ascension'.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: When the last effect resolves, send all monsters on the field, except for this card, back to their respective owner's hand.  
Spell/Trap: When the last effect resolves, send all spell and trap cards on the field back to their respective owner's hand.

"_A new Persona had awakened within Jane." _After Scatach tried to kill the descendant form of the Empress, she ended up back in Jacksons hand. "I could not.." Her form began to fade, she felt weak. At the same time Jane became even more invigorated, her eyes were brighter and her skin less pale. "My turn?" She asked softly, her voice sounded less inhuman too. "Damn it, not yet!" Some growled, as their vessel placed a monster facedown. "..." The girl placed a trap card facedown and attacked with Artemisia. She slew the facedown Soul Decoy(200/100) with sharp metal. "Hsss. My turn, whelp." Mother Harlot was annoyed that someone dared to take her title as the Empress, so she special summoned herself(1600/1400) with the effect of the Decoy. Alas, she did not have much say in the matter. "Reject." The ascendant responded to the effect of the decoy fiend. "Not again." Since the Harlot was on the field once the effect resolved, she too joined Scatach in Jacksons hand. "Accursed copies." At least now it was their turn.

"Let me at her." She snarled. "No wait. That trap of her, I dont trust it." Siegfried held her back. "Ggh, there is only one trap that she could have that I fear. I do not expect her to have that kind of luck." But Jackson had other plans, he played Bring your Own Mind and sent the Empress back to his deck. "What? Tsk, just because there is already one version of me in the graveyard, that does not give you all the right to ignore me." He was allowed to draw 1 card for every Empress in the cemetery, plus 1 more card. He drew two cards: Evoker and Daisoujou of tge Hierophant. "We use this spell, to revive me." Thor grunted as the first spell 'evoked' him back from the dead (3000/1800). "If that trap of yours is what we think it is. It wont stop a physical assault." He electrocuted the enemy with his hands, Artemisia collapsed. "And since an 'evoked' monster will disappear in the endphase, I will give my life for Daisoujou." He was tributed and the Hierophants symbol was tribute summoned(1900/2400). "I hate that I have to do this.." Daisojou used his own effect to send a spell back to his owners hand. Since a magic card was used last, a magic card: Evoker was claimed for future use. "Your move, I guess." The skeleton priest sighed.

Jane's LP: 2300

So the opponent drew again, it was an Fool Symbol. However it received the same treatment as The Empress. "Hey." The Fool became a new entity, and she called it out. "Descendant: Loki." Instead of a harp-wielding machine, you now had a white robed man with grey skin and flowing hair (2000/1000). "And.. Ascendant.." No time was wasted either, she immediately played another Ascension spell to level up the Fool. The robes came off, skin turned bloodred and a wicked sword appeared (2400/2000) "Susano-O." A demon crowned with thorns. "Augh, that one looks nothing like me, or a fool for that matter." Orpheus complained "And then its effect." It too was set into its spell-mode, due to Ascension. It apparently gained 300 points for each spell in her graveyard (2 X Ascension, Chosen Personality, The Tarot and Dark Hour = 5 X 300, Susano-O = 3900/3500). "Physical assault for you..." The newly powered Fool killed off the Hierophant. "Curses." Was its last word. "Fifth down." Cadron cackled as usual.

Jacksons LP: 4400

_Loki - Descendant Symbol of the Fool, 4/2000/1000 Dark/Warrior  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: This card gains 100 attack and loses 100 defense points for each monster card in your graveyard.  
Spell: This card gains 100 attack and loses 100 defense points for each spell card in your graveyard.  
Trap: This card gains 100 attack and loses 100 defense points for each trap card in your graveyard._

_Susano-O - Ascendant Symbol of the Fool, 7/2400/2000 Light/Warrior  
This card can not be normal summoned or set, this card only be special summoned by the effect of 'Ascension'.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: This card gains 300 attack and defense points for each monster card in your graveyard.  
Spell: This card gains 300 attack and defense points for each spell card in your graveyard.  
Trap: This card gains 300 attack and defense points for each trap card in your graveyard._

The others realized that they could not simply revive Thor again and beat it with only attackpoints, it was too strong for that now. "Now do you see?" The Mother Harlot saw this as her chance and used her influence to get Jackson to play Evoker. She (The first card of her) came back to the field (1600/1400). At the same time, Jackson played the field spell Tartarus Tower. "Now I can pick whatever effect I want." They used it to shift the empress(1800/1600) into her monster-mode. "Laugh this off." The Scatach Artemisia had bounced back, was discarded from her hand. "Pardon me, but I will have to use you to kill that thing." The priestess moaned and faded from sight for good, meanwhile she decided to kill all warrior-types on the field. "But.. you should have listened." Jane however chained to the demise of Susano-O with her trap: Destruction of One's Mind. "Gah!" That she used to destroy the royal Arcana and draw a card from her deck. "Damn it, you ..tricked me." She coughed as the trap claimed her soul, she was the sixth Persona to fall.

"This is getting us nowhere! She knows all our moves, but we don't know hers." Attis panicked some more. "Be quiet already. Its just smoke and mirrorsa, mindgame of Cadron." Orpheus simply stared at the girl before them, the one that was supposed to become their new host. "Her soul..feeds on ours. She sounds like the ones that she kills. _But so far_.." He went by the list of fallen comrades. "_Cold Shiva, just Melchidezek, strict Scatach. So far she is only learning from the darker side of the spirit_." Her turn came again, and for the third time she made her own symbol. Except this time she lacked an Ascension spell to further boost it. "My Chariot." She transformed Odin into Polydeuces, her Emperor(1900/1600), empowered by Tartarus Tower. Polydeuces was a tall muscular monster with a weighed down suit and an electric rod for a right hand. He too was as emotionless as Jane's other monsters. "_She can not give life to her own creations until she is a pure human herself_?" It attacked Jackson directly with a Sonic Punch.

Jacksons LP: 2500

_Polydeuces - Descendant Symbol of the Emperor, 4/1700/1400 Light/Thunder  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: During your opponents standby phase, inflict damage to your opponent's life points, equal to the number of monsters in your graveyard x 100.  
Spell: During your opponents standby phase, inflict damage to your opponent's life points, equal to the number of spell cards in your graveyard x 100.  
Trap: During your opponents standby phase, inflict damage to your opponent's life points, equal to the number of trap cards in your graveyard x 100._

A trap was placed facedown before the endphase. "Inject." And during the standby phase, Polydeuces would inflict 100 damage for every monster card in her graveyard, there were four so Jackson lost 400 LP. "These things. I will not accept that they are superior." Odin looked upon his 'brother' with disdain. "I will not accept the future you want to create. This is no way to give life, you are not a god." He growled at Cadron. "This coming from a spirit whose namesake is a Norse god. But I guess you arent 'The Odin'." The shadow was as amused as always. "Mock us if you want. But what we and Jackson have you can never take away. It will not happen!" The duelist drew, and discarded the Tartarus-tutor Wanderer of the Tower from his hand, picking up a Tartarus spell from the deck. "We have let it come to far, and this card will reset it all: Tartarus Activation - Labyrinth!" They removed the Tower from the field, and the same fate struck everything else. Jane's monster, trap, both cemeteries, all shot into the deck. "What have you.."

Jacksons LP: 2100

_Tartarus Activation - The Labyrinth, Normal Spell  
You can only activate this card if there is a ´Tartarus Tower´ on the field. All cards on the field, graveyard and hand are sent back to their respective owner's deck(the deck is then shuffled).  
Then, both players pick up four cards from their deck, show them to their opponents, and add them to their hand._

Four new cards came from both their disks, all were shown to each other:  
[Jane: Velvet Room, Extension of One's Mind, Satan and Creation from One's Mind]  
[Jackson: Velvet Room, Extension of One's Mind, Soul Decoy and Orpheus]

"A fresh start? Is that what you wanted. Too bad." To the shock of the remaining Personae, none of the Personae she had claimed had returned. "Once a soul is taken inside Ger, it wont come back. Not unless I command it. They are all part of little Jane now. You will have to destroy her to save the others." He laughed maniacally. "Then this is the final stretch." Lucifer clenched his fist. "Jane..and Cadron. We will go through you both, we will give all our lives if neccesary, to stop the age of Orichalcos." Time was running out, for them and for their friends outside. They had to finish..her. The girl looked back and seemed to nod. "Understood... Then I shall do my best..to make you accept. To make you...like me." Their turn was not quite over yet.. "We set a monster card and end my turn."

The Personae all waited in silence. They had just given Jane four new cards, so anything could happen. "Extend.." She played the spell: Extension of One's Mind, to take a Persona from her deck and add it to her hand. "Then." Next came the spell card Velvet Room. She discarded two symbols from her deck (Chariot and Fortune) to summon a high-star monster from her hand without tributes. Because she discarded Norn of The fortune, the tenth symbol was weakened. "Ggh, damn you ..whench." It was Satan, his turn came to be forced to her hand (2900/2400). "Set monster, end it." She ordered the devil to destroy Jacksons facedown. "Fine." He did not refuse because he knew it was another Soul Decoy(200/100). "Rwr.. I will go." Byakko calmly growled as he summoned himself with the decoy's special effect(1500/1300). "Be careful Byakko." The Fortune arcana moaned as she started to fade from sight. "No, Norn!" It seemed that now any symbol that went to the grave would be absorbed by Ger. "Set the two cards, end the turn."

Jackson looked at his hand, there was only one card that could take down Satan, and only one way to summon him. "Forgive me Siegfried. But its better to sacrifice just one life, instead of many." First they played their own Extension to add Lucifer to the hand, and then they too used Velvet Room to summon the other devil (3000/2000). "Its allright, we already said we were willing to give it our all." Siegfried said his last words and disappeared. "Bastards." The fallen angel then summoned holy magic. "You better not mean me." Satan grunted as he started to crumble. "It has to be done." But then suddenly Jane flipped her trap. "Satan will give his all too." It was Mind Impact. "Oh no!" She tributed the Judgment to destroy all monsters that had an equal or lower level then the tributed card. "We offered Siegfried for nothing.." Byakko cursed. Temperance and The Star were wiped out by Mind Impact. "I can not believe this. Five more of us in one turn." Orpheus could barely contain his anger. "_Half is gone. He will ..die, and she will..live_."

"Jackson can not...win.."

(To be Continued in Testament 125: Death to Orichalcos)

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**  
_Tartarus Activation - The Labyrinth_

**New Cards used by Jane Doe**  
_Descendant Symbol of the Empress - Penthesilea_  
_Ascendant Symbol of the Empress - Artemisia_  
_Descendant Symbol of the Fool - Loki_  
_Ascendant Symbol of the Fool - Susano-O_  
_Descendant Symbol of the Emperor - Polydeuces_  
_Symbol of the Judgment - Satan_

_-_  
_The Tarot_  
_Ascension_  
_Extension of One´s Mind_  
_Velvet Room_

_-_  
_Mind Impact_


	125. Testament 125: Death of Orichalcos

Testament 125: Death of Orichalcos

Jacksons LP: 2100 Jane's LP: 2300

"So many of us are... gone. We have to end this fast." The Personalities thought, as their duel against their opposite continued. "Still.. my turn." And she activated another trap to agonize them. "Create." She used Creation of One's Mind to revive one of her dead Symbols. She did not choose to summon a Symbol that Jackson wanted to see alive again, though. "Thats Thor." She picked the Chariot card, however.. "No wait." Jane did 'it' again, she transformed the Persona Card into a Descendant symbol, making it her own. "Palladion." It was the warrior goddess with a dress, helmet, mask and a gatling gun instead of a body (900/400). "Trap card was used last." Palladion this entered her trap-mode.

_Palladion - Descendant Symbol of the Chariot, 4/900/400 Light/Machine  
Only one 'Persona card' of the same name can be on the field at the same time.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster.  
Monster: This card's original attack and defense becomes 1800.  
Spell: This card's original attack becomes 2000 and its defense becomes 0.  
Trap: This card's original defense becomes 2300 and its attack becomes 0._

In this form she would gain defense and lost all offense(0/2300). This was probably why she was summoned in defense mode. Due to her first trap, Mind Impact, her opponent was defenseless. "You are open." She pointed at Jackson. The woman could still normal summon this turn, so she called out the Soulless Symbol of the Coins (1200/1100). A monster that could not be attacked if there was an ensouled Personality like Palladion on the field. "Reject." It attacked directly and took down 1200 of their lifepoints. "_Argh. We were so busy with ourselves that we forgot about Jacksons lifeforce. We nearly lost it all._" They had few points left, no monsters, and Jane had put up an impenetrable defense. "

Jacksons LP: 900

"No more of this!" This time they drew a spell. "Research of One's Mind! One of 'us' will give its life to activate this card." The question was, who would be given up. "I have to do this." Orpheus was normal summoned (2100/1500). "Orpheus, you do not..." Cybele Doe wanted to stop him. "I must, none of you are ready." He closed his eyes. "Make it worth our while." And then he was taken by the effect, exchanged for a new monster. Doe drew cards from his hand until he got a monster. "You wont be forgotten." It was the one-eyed Odin. Research could special summon it in Monster-mode. "This one is mine." While the god could not attack the Coin symbol, he could destroy the Descendant of the Chariot. "Be gone!" His thunder cracked the mask of Palladion and broke her to pieces. "My special ability follows!" Odin also damaged her lifepoints for half of the victims defense points. (2500/2 = 1250). "Now you too are close to the end, Jane. This will be your final move." Jackson ended his turn.

Jane's LP: 1050

"Tsk. Bothersome til the end" Cadron seemed to notice now that the resistance they were putting up was reaching its peak. "We will not yield. Twelve of us have gone beyond everything to stop you, but you shall never claim another soul. It is you who can not win.." Even Jane was a little surprised. "I can not?" This was a new feeling for her. "No." She shook her head and entered her turn, switching the Coin monster to defense mode. "Emperor to Emperor." She normal summoned her version of The Emperor once more: Polydeuces. Then she used the spell card Ascension to sacrifice it for its stronger form. "Descendant to Ascendant." The needle-warrior transformed into a spirit that resembled the Roman general, Ceasar (2200/2000), summoned in spell-mode. "You..to me." Odin however scoffed at the appearance of another of his Arcana, since it was weaker. "What are you playing at, little one?" However her plan became clear when she entered her endphase, and Ceasar activated his special effect.

_Caesar - Ascendant Symbol of the Emperor, 7/2200/2000 Light/Warrior  
This card can not be normal summoned or set, this card only be special summoned by the effect of 'Ascension'.  
This card gains the following effects depending on the last card effect's type that was activated, excluding the effect of a Persona monster  
Monster: During your opponents standby phase, inflict damage to your opponent's life points, equal to the number of monsters in your graveyard x 300.  
Spell: During your opponents standby phase, inflict damage to your opponent's life points, equal to the number of spell cards in your graveyard x 300.  
Trap: During your opponents standby phase, inflict damage to your opponent's life points, equal to the number of trap cards in your graveyard x 300._

"Umph." The Emperor scraped his sword against Jacksons side. Every standby phase it would inflict 300 damage to the opponent, for every spell-card in her cemetery. There were two in her graveyard, so the duelist lost 600 lifepoints. "So thats it." Her turn was over now. "Another one of those and we will really lose it all. And yet.." Odin clenched his lance. "I can simply slay it and end the duel right here and now. How is this act supposed to stop us?" He asked the two. Neither responded to him, but Cadron was smiling suspiciously.

Jacksons LP: 300

"I do not like this." They were about to draw a card, but Jackson stopped. "I can sense it." He hesitated. "Whats wrong Odin?" The other minds inside asked. "Standing before another of the same number. I can feel that it is too similar. It is.. still me." He loosened the grip on his weapon. "This is not how it started out. This girl was soulless, a mere shadow. But now there is life within her, and so are we..." The others flinched. "What? You mean to say that..." The god nodded. "They are a part of her now, the ones she killed in this duel, all twenty-one Arcana are divided. If one side wins while the other is still missing the key personalities, both will die." He realized the cruel nature of Cadrons game. "That was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Odin turned to the shadow of the scientist. "You set up this game, made a vessel that could siphon souls, and now you want us to end the duel thus destroying our connection." The villain chuckled. "Guilty as sin. And you would have fallen for it in a second." His plan was all he needed to destroy the one soul the great demon Ger could not devour.

Of course he had not counted on Jane having a mind of her own "If I need to sacrifice the firstborn of Gers new race to win, I will do so. You no longer have a say in the matter anyway, either you skip your turn and let her beat you. Or you finish her off right now." Either way half of Jacksons soul would perish. "You pushed her this far. The funny thing is, you had a chance to beat us at our own game. You never realized you could claim souls back with force. And now its too late, there is no way you can reclaim all twelve souls in one turn." Jane was strangely silent during all this, which Cybele noticed. "But is she..are you okay with that?" She wondered if the girl knew about this from the beginning. "Ha! She has to do what I command, I am her god." He laughed and she sighed. "...You do not even know what you have created." Odin said to him. "Still talking? Just decide already, decide whose fault it will be that two vessels will perish." He started laughing, and he did not stop until Jackson drew his card.

"You are wrong. There is a way to win, even if you linked us together." He looked at his copy, she looked back, confused. "Only one method can end this duel, with us both as equals." He played the card hew drew. "What are you doing, trying to stall for time?" The spell started glowing. "Equal?" Jane looked into the light and felt strange. "There is a way to get all the Personae back to us... Grand Mind Fusion!" The rays dove into the ground, into the cemetery. "What, fusion. Where did this come from?" Thirteen beams returned to the surface, penetrating the black sea. "I fuse all the Personae in my cemetery into one being!" An incomprehensible power formed, an enitity so pure that Cadron could not stand to look at it. "What is going..on?" When he looked again, he saw that Jane was missing, so was Ceasar. "You fused the monsters on the field too?" He gasped. "Both will accept it. Your gambit failed, god Cadron." A long row of coffins came from the light, aimed at Cadron himself. "You could not destroy our souls.."

_Grand Mind Fusion, Normal Spell  
Remove from play, from the field or the graveyard, fusion material monsters that are listed on a 'persona' fusion monster card, and special summon that fusion monster from your fusion deck.  
(This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon)._

Jane's LP: 0

It struck him backwards, the duel had ended. "You...you.." Cadrons shadow stood up and began to convulse, it could not take all this purity. "You will not refuse the darkness of Ger!" Then suddenly he threw a dozen soul prison bubbles at the Personae who rested in the lightbeams. "I shall claim you no matter what." He attempted to take them by force, now that the duel had weakened them. "..." It seemed to work too, as the symbols could not avoid the attack and were all hit. "Yes, disappear." Even Jackson was absorbed by the evil energy, and started to sink into the oil. "I have you at last." They submerged, all were gone from sight. But this silence was only one moment. "You do. Or.." The wraith flinched and looked up. "Did we get you?" He saw all twenty-two spirits, divided across the collective of souls, but not fully captured, they were free to move inside. "No, how did you.." He realized now. "You wanted to be caught?" Now they were in contact with the soul network. "We already told you, you failed to defeat us. There was a reason that this duel started, because your Ger could not control all of us. You pursued the mistake in desperation" Cadrons eye twitched. "Now that we are here, we will free everyone.."

The breakdowns start went almost unnoticed, but eventually the people outside started to see a change. "Well, I never.." The black oil actually started to withdraw, releasing its grip off the tower and the army boats. "Why is it doing that?" Soon they could get a clear view of the ocean, and the serpent god, as the windows cleared. "Now I am really confused." The beast had gone wild, trashing around in the air, throwing its tail up and down. "What is doing this, can it be Jackson?" It got even worse for the monster, bursts of light came from its body: pure white light. "Those are.." There were a thousand tiny beams, that came from every corner of its scaly hide. They shot into every direction, most headed for England, others stayed close, and some even travelled to other continents. "... the souls, he freed them all!" And with every redeemed spirit, Ger lost power and form. It ate souls to sustain its god-hood. Without the food that Tumaga and Orichalcos had given them, it regressed. "Come on, we have to get down there and find Jack!"

The view inside was even more magnificent, all those spirtual flares ran wild, tearing their captive apart. The twenty-one symbols had dispelled their bubbles, and now they ran amok. Cadron could only watch in despair as the god was destroyed from the inside out. The tail crashed into the water, the head roared and shattered into orichalcum fragments. "No! This can not have happened. His power, our power, was supposed to be glorious!" He seethed with fury. and all of his anger was focused on one person. While all the souls ran back to their original bodies, Jacksons own body was reformed from the duel monsters around him. He had gathered enough to take control of his physical self, he opened his eyes and looked around. He was back on the island, the corruption was no more, the soldiers around him regained their senses as well. "Jackson!" And his friends came to greet him already. "Guys!" Gers body was completely destroyed from the inside out. "Thank goodness.." All seemed right with the world.

"Die for Orichalcos!" Until Cadron came up from behind him, his arm changed into a razorsharp spike, and he shot it towards his heart. It happened so quickly, he had dropped his guard.

A life was pierced by this heinous strike, but it was not his..not completely. "Ugh." The others arrived just in time to see Arahabaki getting his body punctured by the shadow. "No!" Cadron was surprised as well, but pulled through regardless. "You came in the way, you will not stop me!" He slashed his arm through the Hermit Arcana, cutting him in half. "Jackson.." He called out his name with his last breath, and broke apart like a porcelain vase. Doe was devastated, and the others were furious. "Monster!" Christine screamed. Right at that time, a three-colored light came from three dueldisks. "!" Timaeus, Critias and Hermos had revived themself once more. "Get him!" William shouted as hard as he could. The dragonic trio surrounded the Kartel apparition. "Gah! You think you can hurt me! I have a contract with the dark one, I am immor.." And before he could finish, he was blasted to nothingness by red and blue flames. The last virtuous spirits of Atlantis gave him no mercy. "..no more deaths..no more."

Then at last, there was no more darkness. The sun was setting, the souls were freed, and all the Orichalcum had drifted back to the bottom of the seas. "Jackson..are you..okay?" The five duelists surrounded their friend. "I..we dont know.." He had been confused ever since the duel ended. When he and Jane surrendered, and were absorbed by Ger, their bodies disappeared. The symbols from her and him reunited and headed back into one body. "I need to ..explain later." He had no clue where she had gone, or if she ever truly existed. Jane still felt ..close by. "What about Arahabaki..is he?" This he was not sure about either, the claydoll appeared to have given his life to save the others of his kind. "We can not feel him anymore." He searched his dueldisk, and took out the Hermits Symbol card. "His individuality has been...taken away. He rejoined the whole." It was as if the power that had created him was now undone. Jackson then saw the saddened expressions and produced a weak smile. "It is okay. He is not truly gone, he is merely a part of us all now."

While that did not really put them at ease, it was a slight comfort nonetheless. "I wont forget him." Jacobus said. "He did more for me than I would have thought possible. He, and all of you gave done so much...thank you.." An uncomfortable silence came next. "But its gone right? The big bad.." Colin was still dreading a last-minute twist. "Do you see him anywhere?" Cleo rasped. "But what now?" Carter asked. "We might just have saved the world.." William smiled. "Yeah sure. That was easy." Some moaned.

(To be Concluded...)

**New Cards used by Jackson Doe**  
_Grand Mind Fusion_

**New Cards used by Jane Doe**  
_Descendant Symbol of the Chariot - Palladion_  
_Soulless Symbol of the Coins_  
_Ascendant Symbol of the Emperor - Ceasar_

_-_  
_Creation of One's Mind_


	126. Testament Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Word was sent over to the government, communications were re-established to tell them that the threat of Tum'aga had passed. More ships came from the main land, to carry the survivors back. "Wait I just realized something." The duelists were on those ships too, warming themselves in a cabin. "If the danger is gone, what about... you know." William Carter took out a card from his deck, 'the card'. "Timaeus..Critias, and Hermos. They are still with us." The blue dragon card was in his hand, the image still as clear as when he used it in his duels. "I'd figured they would leave once we no longer needed them to duel." Colin reached for his card and saw it too. "Man. I do not want to be thinking about that right now." He moaned, all he wanted was some rest. "There is still one more thing that has to be done." Jackson looked at the card, and then at Nero. "They are saying something by lingering. There is a task we still need to perform." Doe pointed at the item around Nero's neck. "The Pharaoh came into this world, we need to find out why."

"You mean to say that it did not return to take down Tum'aga?" Nero clenched the puzzle tightly. "... I wish we could actually talk to him again. But it wont work for us will it?" Nobody knew the answer to that one. "Psh. I gather that I wont be getting back my part of the puzzle any day soon. It might scramble his brain." Cleo sighed. At this rate she would have to find another good luck charm or actually get good at this game. "Well for now we just need to rest. We have done a lot, we earned it." Christine smiled. She for one looked forward to a very long break. And then there came a knock on the door. "What?" A soldier came through, he looked rather happy. "Good news!" He said excitedly. "The victims have all woken up again!?" They immediately assumed. "Well yes... but this is more. I mean, you should take this." He took out a communicator and handed it over to Jackson. "What do I need this for?" He wondered, but he answered the call anyway "What are you saying.." And the look of joy also touched his face. "He is?"

Because not only had all the fallen souls been returned to their vessels, but apparently the attack from earlier did not end the life of a close friend. Cable Fraser was still breathing, still on the other side of the ocean. The building he had been in, Outerdecks building, it had been destroyed by the demon. Yet at that time he had not been in the center of the explosion, the place collapsed all around him, but he made it out with minor bruises. Right now he was in an ambulance, slightly wounded, since the rescue workers insisted. "You could have saved your own hide if you abandoned me." Along side of him was his no-longer comatose pal: Marcus Simmons. "I still consider that a fate not fit for you, Marcus." Only recently did he wake up from the seal-induced slumber, when Ger died, his soul was returned to his body as well. But even before that Fraser had carried his lifeless body away from the danger zone. "I would rather be dead then face the investigations I am about to receive." He cringed, which made Fraser chuckle.

"Just be glad that its over...for that company."

And it was. As morning set in the government delivered its judgment upon Tum'aga. The firm was officially rolled up, so was its business associate Temple Soft. The death of their CEO, Justine Loveless, would have bankrupted them anyway. The Creeds were declared missing. All production was shifted to other companies, and Outerdeck regained its control over its UK branch. Any technology inside tower 0013 was confiscated, that island would take forever to be cleaned up. The government also had plans to investigate the supposed sunken city that was connected to the tower. Though by the time they had mustered up enough funds to send a deepsea research team, Atlantis had mysteriously left the radars. The entire site sunk even further down into the ocean, the very land itself opened up and swallowed it whole. If this was punishment for the resurrection of the dark one, nobody knew. The legacy of that city and of Creed, it could now only be measured in Orichalcum. That was all that remained of their project Zetto.

Slowly everyone started to get back in touch with their close ones. The government of the UK was put at ease, and families could return home. Though the souls of the fallen needed more than words to be calmed down. Tum'aga called it a virus, a disease that swept the nation and sent everyone into a comatose state. This cover-up continued after their fall, the government did not want to start a widespread panic. If they saw one-eyed giant demons or lasers shooting through clouds, that was all just a result of the hallucinations the epidemic induced. Hush money was given to those who refused to believe the excuses, and to all the duelists who had personally witnessed the atrocities of Orichalcos. Those that refused the money and threatened to spread the truth, they were arrested or even declared insane. Drastic measures were taken to prevent chaos, yet rumors still slipped out. It was like a bottle neck, many people feared that the turth could not be held back for long. But for now, this would have to do, they were not ready yet.

Unfortunately, not all would not wait for the world to be ready. The true trials of the pharaoh, they were coming...

The true darkness was coming...

**END OF PART 1**


End file.
